came upon this while studying for my physics quiz...
it was just too funny...i had to post.
"Suppose we wanted to find the sign of a charged elephant and don't have a modern electrometer handy. Just suspend two identical, lightweight neutral objects -- two ping-pong balls, say, or two pith balls. Now touch a rod of glass-rubbed-on-silk to one of the pith balls, thereby charging it positively. Next, back the electrified pachyderm into the second pith ball, which will take on some unknown elephant-charge. If the two pith balls then attract, the elephant may be negative; if they repel, it surely is positive."
goodness...maybe i should read my physics books more often. i could find out about all the weirdest things. like how to determine the charge of elephants. anyone have an elephant they need to find the charge of?
"Suppose we wanted to find the sign of a charged elephant and don't have a modern electrometer handy. Just suspend two identical, lightweight neutral objects -- two ping-pong balls, say, or two pith balls. Now touch a rod of glass-rubbed-on-silk to one of the pith balls, thereby charging it positively. Next, back the electrified pachyderm into the second pith ball, which will take on some unknown elephant-charge. If the two pith balls then attract, the elephant may be negative; if they repel, it surely is positive."
goodness...maybe i should read my physics books more often. i could find out about all the weirdest things. like how to determine the charge of elephants. anyone have an elephant they need to find the charge of?