When the force of friction covers a big area, it becomes very strong. Oct 22, 2015 phone book friction, from mythbusters the enigma of the two interleaved phonebooks pdf, from cornell university library slippery science. Finding an approximate solution to a complex problem is an essential skill in science and in life. Researchers explain why its nearly impossible to separate.
With spencer heney, cristina magirescu, stephanie kollmar, roubina karina. Test which surfaces create more friction, see how strong friction is, learn how to reduce friction, and even discover the side effects of friction. This phenomenon is commonly demonstrated with phone books. This results in a huge increase in the friction force, making them nearly impossible to pull apart. Check out this handson activity and see if you can overpower the friction between the books. Aug 26, 2015 finding an approximate solution to a complex problem is an essential skill in science and in life. A remarkable demonstration of the influence of friction involves a pair of phonebooks with their pages interleaved. In relation to this interleaved phone book the normal force is applied to all the pages in series instead of in parallel. The more pages you put together, the bigger the area and the more friction you. Why it takes tanks to separate two phone books the pipettepen. A new experiment shows it is even possible to suspend a car from them. Fighting childrens misconceptions with the fantasticfour. In this paper we describe a simple alternative to the telephone book friction experiment, a classic demonstration where a small force generated for example by the bending of the outer pages is amplified by the large number of surfaces in contact, resulting in a huge maximum static friction force that has to be counterbalanced in order to. Science friction is a collection of articles written by mr.
Summing all of this, we would expect the interleaved phone books to exhibit times the friction that non interleaved phone books exhibit. Jan 07, 2016 a remarkable demonstration of the influence of friction involves a pair of phonebooks with their pages interleaved. To demonstrate how strong the force of friction can be, i use an activity developed by the mythbusters tv series, called phone book friction discovery 2008. If each phone book is 500 pages, then when you interleave them you are putting pages on top of each other. Physicists solve the mystery of interleaved phone books. This type of braid is applicable to sutures in surgery 30, and is also thought to play a role in adhesive proteins 31. Friction, good people, is a wonderfully powerful force.
Explore friction by launching stuff, from scientific. The first factor is reminiscent of the selfamplification of friction in a capstan 19, as well as in interleaved assemblies of sheets 20, 21, where the increase in resistance is created by. Dec 16, 2015 using a model that reproduces the traction and friction forces involved, researchers have shown that when the spines of the interleaved phonebooks are pulled on vertically, part of the vertical. Astonishingly, it turns out to be practically impossible to separate two interleaved phone books by pulling on their spines, however much force is applied. Demonstrating the power of friction with phonebooks youtube. Check out the latest episodes of science friction, the show that breaks down the real science behind scifi and comic book superpowers and explains how an ordinary human being like. In fact, if the experiment is done at a larger scale using two phone books, those phone books can even be attached to a crane to lift the weight of an entire car. A famous demonstration of the counterintuitive power of friction. Its a fascinating read, and its all to do with friction.
Physics the strength of interleaved phonebooks explained. Many people are familiar with the friction enigma of two interleaved phonebooks, in which all of the pages of two phonebooks are overlapped, one by. Each page in contact has the friction caused by the weight of the pages above it pushing down. Where the known meets the unknown is a 2004 book by michael shermer, a historian of science and founder of the skeptics society. It crops up in the automotive word all the time, be it associated with tires, brakes and engine internals, or even the microtug of a. The friction between the pages can be so great that a car can be suspended from such a phonebook pair. All that is holding the two books together is friction. The backoftheenvelope answer is friction between the pages.
Try pulling apart two interleaved phone books and youll inevitably be. This is exactly what the team investigating the friction of phone books did. Physicist kari dalnokiveress did his own interleaved phone book mythbuster experiment and recruited students to help him demonstrate the. Physicists solve the mystery of interleaved phone books mit. Dec 17, 2014 mad scientist, david willey, with the help of his friends ed and kurt, tear apart a pair of interleaved phone books. Physics experimentpresentation on the friction between two phone books where the pages have been interleaved.
This ensures that we are testing the strength of the frictional forces between the pieces of paper and not the forces of the c clamps. Even a small number of interleaved pages can result in a surprisingly large amount of friction, making the sticky notes impossible to pull apart. A person sliding a book across a table creates friction. Also see the sequel in mythbusters, or maybe even try it yourself. Key to the phenomenon of spectacular friction forces between two interleaved phone books is a simple geometrical conversion of the traction force to an orthogonal component which. Aug 17, 2015 a famous demonstration of the counterintuitive power of friction involves two telephone directories with their pages alternately interleaved. May 01, 2008 when the force of friction covers a big area, it becomes very strong. In this episode they tried to bust the myth that it is impossible to pull two interleaved phone books apart. Researchers explain why its nearly impossible to separate two. Crucial to the geometrical ampli cation of friction with interleaved books are the angles n that the sheets make as they approach the contact region. Phone book friction, from mythbusters the enigma of the two interleaved phonebooks pdf, from cornell university library slippery science. Using a model that reproduces the traction and friction forces involved, researchers have shown that when the spines of the interleaved phonebooks are pulled on vertically, part of the vertical. The mythbusters tried to pull the two phone books apart with human power, which was unsuccessful. A simple alternative to the phone book friction demonstration.
The aim of our experiment is to illustrate the friction force in a dramatic way and to simplify the tedious job of interleaving a large number of book pages, by using the minimum number of sheets. The pages of the sticky note pads are held together by friction. Key to the phenomenon of spectacular friction forces between two interleaved phone books is a simple geometrical conversion of the traction force to an orthogonal component which enhances the load and thus the friction. Graphs, observations, procedures all of science falls by the wayside without a way of recording the information. Jan 08, 2016 astonishingly, it turns out to be practically impossible to separate two interleaved phone books by pulling on their spines, however much force is applied. Dec 07, 2016 now repeat this process for as many pages as are in a phone book, and youve got a lot of friction. Aug 28, 2015 so begins the article over at the conversation, explaining why its impossible to pull apart interleaved phone books. Coefficients of static friction for a few common materials. So begins the article over at the conversation, explaining why its impossible to pull apart interleaved phone books. The fact that the pages of two phone books are interleaved means that friction as well. It would be a great video to show at the beginning of the study of friction to grab the students attention and get them interested and thinking.
In the case of friction at single interface then its true that increasing the surface area doesnt generally help much, as force is spread over a larger area in parallel and, as a previous poster said, the reduction in. Dec 09, 2015 many people are familiar with the friction enigma of two interleaved phonebooks, in which all of the pages of two phonebooks are overlapped, one by one, with the books spines facing. It is an old barroom trickmaking a nexttoimpossible task seem easy. It is impossible to separate two interlocked phone books due to the massive amount of friction between the 800 pages of each book. When you pull on the phone books, the pages want to straighten out to be in the direction of the force. Aug 20, 2018 in this paper we describe a simple alternative to the telephone book friction experiment, a classic demonstration where a small force generated for example by the bending of the outer pages is amplified by the large number of surfaces in contact, resulting in a huge maximum static friction force that has to be counterbalanced in order to. Summing all of this, we would expect the interleaved phone books to exhibit times the friction that noninterleaved phone books exhibit. Will tory and kari successfully pull apart two phone books in 30 minutes without breaking their teeth. The fact that the pages of two phone books are interleaved means that friction as well as weight is preventing them from being separated.
When a few pages are interleaved, you may find the books pull apart easily. Friction is also the reason you can hold a book, and the reason why you dont slip when walking. It contains thirteen essays about personal barriers and biases that plague and propel science, especially when scientists push against the unknown. It can be tempting in science, and in life, to believe that every stone has. Tension results in a compression at the middle that results in a goodsized normal force, and hence a goodsized static friction force. Check out the latest episodes of science friction, the show that breaks down the real science behind scifi and comic book superpowers and explains how an ordinary human being like you can become superhuman. Inseparable books experiments steve spangler science. It turns out that when you try to pull the two books apart, the interleaved pages in the middle get squished together harderthis increases the. If there are 999 pages in total in contact with each other, the friction between the pages is equal to 500 times the friction between one book and a table. The interleaved phonebook demonstration is important because it is just one. Now french researchers have performed experiments with smaller booklets and developed a mathematical model that explains why. Mystery of why interleaved phone books cant be pulled apart.
Tearing two interlaced phone books apart using two 18 wheeler. First, some context, in case you are a child of the 21st century, and so perhaps have no personal experience with. Feb 19, 2017 mythbusters phone book friction video this is a short video clip from the episode of mythbusters on the discovery channel. First, some context, in case you are a child of the 21st century, and so perhaps have no personal experience with paper telephone books, which could be hefty. Mad scientist, david willey, with the help of his friends ed and kurt, tear apart a pair of interleaved phone books. Table 1 shows the static friction coefficients for some common materials. There are sliding friction experiments, a phone book friction experiment, a way to make rice stick together, an experiment to create frictional heat, and lots. Selfamplification of solid friction in interleaved assemblies. Students take turns trying to pull apart two interleafed phone books. There are sliding friction experiments, a phone book friction experiment, a way to make rice stick together, an experiment to create frictional heat, and lots more friction experiments for all ages. After all, youre pulling on the spines of the books and friction directly.
The researchers compared this selfinduced friction amplification effect to the. A few years ago, an episode of mythbusters explored the strength of interleaved phone books. A famous demonstration of the counterintuitive power of friction involves two telephone directories with their pages alternately interleaved. Phone book paper is on the rougher side, probably 0.
People have tried pulling two interleaved phone books apart by playing tug. So the clamps just bind to the top of each section, the part that does not have the other sides pages interleaved. Mythbusters phone book friction video this is a short video clip from the episode of mythbusters on the discovery channel. Mar 11, 2020 the interleaved portions of the post it notes should be free from clamps. How to do a friction science experiment test which surfaces create more friction, see how strong friction is, learn how to reduce friction, and even discover the side effects of friction. When you throw a ball up, gravity causes the ball to fall down. Separating books experiment try pulling apart two interleaved. No matter how much force is applied within reason, no hammer of thor stuff you cant separate two interleaved phone books by pulling on their spines. Take two phone books and lie them face up, with the spines facing away from each other. The interleaved portions of the post it notes should be free from clamps. The force of friction and the weight of the pages combine, tightly binding the phone books together and making separation impossible for a single person. Why its impossible to pull apart interleaved phone books.
Many people are familiar with the friction enigma of two interleaved phonebooks, in which all of the pages of two phonebooks are overlapped, one by one, with the books spines facing. See more ideas about force and motion, physical science and science experiments. The scientists explain that this tiny force on the outermost pages. A pair of cars also failed at pulling the phone books apart. The friction force generated by the two interleaved phone books on the left is enough to support a car. The thickness of the doubledup phone books where the pages interleave is twice as thick as the individual phone books at the binding. When you intertwine two notebooks, page by page, they become inseparable books.
How to do a friction science experiment science experiments. Take two phone books, each about 1 kg about pages and carefully shuffle the pages together, each page of one phone book alternating with a page of the other phone book. For two books of pages each there are 1999 pagesurfaces in contact. Then interleave the pages and try to pull the books apart. The suggestion that two interleaved phone books cannot be pulled apart is more complex than it seems. People are then invited to pull the directories apart. A haphazard partyride to mexico evolves into an enigma with a fugitive alien at the helm. The ground and other solid surfaces can cause friction, called dry friction, but fluids liquids and gases like water and air can also cause frictional forces, called fluid friction. The more pages you put together, the bigger the area and the more friction you create. Now repeat this process for as many pages as are in a phone book, and youve got a lot of friction. You may be interested to know that the task of pulling apart two humble phone books laying face up with their pages interleaved like a shuffled deck of cards is nearly impossible. Why cant two interleaved phone books be pulled apart. Why cant you separate interleaved books physics today.
Jun 20, 2017 test which surfaces create more friction, see how strong friction is, learn how to reduce friction, and even discover the side effects of friction. Though a familiar concept, friction is a subject worthy of much more scientific study and the physicists behind this phone book trick have taken the time to point out some of the ongoing research on friction in modern science. But the results change as you interleave more and more pages. The more pages you add, the larger this effect becomes.
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