UIUC Physics Lecture Demo: Balancing Bottle and Block of Wood

UIUC Physics
Lecture Demonstration
Database

Demo # 462

Balancing Bottle and Block of Wood

ID # 462

Description:

A specially cut block of wood and a glass bottle are used to demonstrate the importance of finding center of mass. The wood alone will not stand on this slanted edge because the wood's center of mass is not supported by the base. The bottle is carefully placed in the hole in the wood. This new system of objects will balance because the center of mass of the system is now properly supported.

Picture of Balancing Bottle and Block of Wood

Physics Concept:

Mechanics
Rigid Bodies and Static Equilibrium
Center of Mass

The demonstration takes about 1 minute to perform.