Eastern Kentucky University
The Phenomenal Slinky
Institution
Eastern Kentucky University
Faculty Advisor/ Mentor
Jing Wang
Abstract
Slinky was invented in 1943 by Richard James when he knocked over a box of springs and was intrigued when one of the springs “walked” down instead of falling. It was first marketed to the public in 1945. Since its conception, the Slinky has been an interesting phenomenon for physicists. In this study we are exploring what happens when a slinky bounces off of a floor. We will be taking video of a slinky bouncing off of a floor and analyzing that data frame by frame. We hope to learn the behavior of the slinky and to build a mathematical model for this phenomenon.
The Phenomenal Slinky
Slinky was invented in 1943 by Richard James when he knocked over a box of springs and was intrigued when one of the springs “walked” down instead of falling. It was first marketed to the public in 1945. Since its conception, the Slinky has been an interesting phenomenon for physicists. In this study we are exploring what happens when a slinky bounces off of a floor. We will be taking video of a slinky bouncing off of a floor and analyzing that data frame by frame. We hope to learn the behavior of the slinky and to build a mathematical model for this phenomenon.