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The Details:
The spinning table is also used to illustrate the principle of inertia.
When a person stands on the spinning table, they will not be able to
turn themselves around. The law of inertia tells us that an object at
rest stays at rest. The person wants to stay at rest, not spin around.
When the person pushes off of the ground or another person that has
more inertia, then they can move. Recall that if something has a lot of
inertia, it is hard to move. If something has not much inertia, it is
easy to move. The person on the spinning table moves a lot easier than
the person on the ground, so the spinning person has less inertia.
When we give the volunteer some weights in
her hands and spin her around, she can make herself go faster by
bringing his arms in. This is the same move that ice skaters use to
spin fast when they do fancy jumps. When the arms are in, it is easier
for her to move, so this means she has less inertia. When arms are out,
she moves slower and has more inertia. The effect is more
pronounced with heavier weights, but you can see (and feel) it even
without any weights at all.
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Page Updated 8/29/08