Re: pinhole physics and biology urban legends

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From: Geoff Ruth (gruth@leadershiphigh.org)
Date: Mon Feb 02 2004 - 16:27:19 PST 

Message-Id: <p06020401bc448f92e0f1@[192.168.1.14]>
Date: Mon, 2 Feb 2004 16:27:19 -0800
From: Geoff Ruth <gruth@leadershiphigh.org>
Subject: Re: pinhole physics and biology urban legends

Paul,

Here are some additional myths:

1. Water in a drain in the northern hemisphere goes clockwise and
vice versa, because of the Corealis effect.

2. Ice skates work b/c they put enough pressure under the skate
blades to melt the ice and therefore let the skates slide.

3. This one is perhaps not a myth, but I think the term is wrong:
there is no such 'force' as 'centripetal force' -- it's
gravitational or tensional force that pull in an object towards the
center.

- Geoff

>Hi Pinholers
>
>Next Saturday's class is on Urban legends of physics and biology.
>
>I'm doing the physics ones, Karen K is doing the biology ones.
>
>Here are some I have already:
>
>These are all incorrect statements:
>
>Room temperature glass flows and is a liquid as shown by old church windows.
>
>When a candle burns in an inverted beaker sealed by water the water rises
>because the oxygen is consumed.
>
>Polar Bear fur is a fiber optic.
>
>A penny thrown off the empire state building will penetrate the roof of a car.
>
>The air flowing over a wing goes faster because it has to meet up with the
>air flowing under a wing.
>
>A rotating baseball curves when moving through the air because the velocity
>(relative to the surface of the baseball) of the air flowing around one
>side of the spinning ball is faster than the speed around the other
>side.(The parentheses are all important here, remove the parenthetical
>statement and this statement is true.)
>
>Please suggest your favorites..
>
>Thanks
>
>Paul D
>
>
>
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