Re: Droping a Slinky (Q&A)

Posted by Nick Thompson on
URL: http://friam.383.s1.nabble.com/Droping-a-Slinky-Q-A-tp6851732p6853455.html

Stephen,

I take it that your model's "intuition" is that the bottom should start
moving a bit before the top gets to it.  

I looked at Eric's video again and again, feeling that I had seen something
like it before.  And then I remembered what that something was.  The
collapse of the twin towers.

N

-----Original Message-----
From: [hidden email] [mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf
Of Stephen Guerin
Sent: Sunday, October 02, 2011 1:04 PM
To: The Friday Morning Applied Complexity Coffee Group
Subject: Re: [FRIAM] Droping a Slinky (Q&A)

Cool! Thanks, Eric.

I was curious and mocked up a quick spring model in Netlogo to play with the
dynamics. You can see a video here
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtWiM5jicOI

-S

On Sat, Oct 1, 2011 at 7:07 PM, ERIC P. CHARLES <[hidden email]> wrote:

> Below are links to some science videos nifty for two reasons.
>
> 1) They ask and answers a pretty cool question: What happens when you
> hold a slinky out at shoulder height, so it is extended down (the
> bottom still off the ground) and you let go. Think about it for a
> second. How does the top part of the slinky move, how does the bottom
> part move, how does the center of mass move? A good physics thought
> experiment! (If you are having trouble imagining it, here is the question:
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGIZKETKKdw)
>
> 2) The answer illustrates the weirdness of trying to apply the term
> 'information' to all possible situations. At about 1:30, the physics
> prof offers an explanation for what happens, and (for just a second)
> talks as if one part of the slinky is transmitting 'information' about
> its movement to another part of the slinky, which is bizarre way. The
> slinky itself is moving, it is not transmitting information about the
movement, it IS moving.

> Why would you say that it takes time for 'the information to
> propagate', instead of simply saying that 'it takes time for the
> slinky to move'. Weird, weird, weird.
>
> At any rate, Here is the cool answer:
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCMmmEEyOO0
> (and it continues here: http://www.youtube.com/wa! 
> tch?v=oKb2tCtpvNU&NR=1)
>
> This seemed like the type of thing lots of people on the list would
> get a kick out of... so... hope you do.
>
> Eric
>
> ============================================================
> FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe
> at St. John's College lectures, archives, unsubscribe, maps at
> http://www.friam.org
>



--
--- -. .   ..-. .. ... ....   - .-- ---   ..-. .. ... ....
[hidden email]
624 Agua Fria, Santa Fe, NM 87501
office: 505.995.0206 mobile: 505.577.5828

redfish.com  |  sfcomplex.org  |  simtable.com  |  ambientpixel.com

============================================================
FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv
Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College lectures, archives,
unsubscribe, maps at http://www.friam.org


============================================================
FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv
Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College
lectures, archives, unsubscribe, maps at http://www.friam.org