stackyFACTSWatching a Slinky 'walk' down a flight of stairs feels like magic, but it is just a brutal demonstration of gravity and tension.
Watching a Slinky 'walk' down a flight of stairs feels like magic, but it is just a brutal demonstration of gravity and tension. The toy doesn't actually walk; it merely transfers a longitudinal wave of energy down its helical structure. As gravity pulls the top mass over the edge, the tension of the coil aggressively pulls the bottom mass up to meet it, creating a perpetual kinetic collapse until it hits flat ground.
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