Slinky Slow-Mo

About this video

Defying the laws of gravity?

In super slow-mo the effect of a dropped slinky is mesmerising and baffling in equal measure. Why does the bottom not fall as soon as it is released?

Associate Professor Mike Wheatland from Sydney Institute for Astronomy is on hand to model the forces at work.

As he explains, when the extended slinky is released there is a change in the forces of tension and gravity acting upon it. It then takes a finite amount of time for the transfer of information about that change to travel from the top to the bottom of the slinky.

This happens to all physical objects but (usually) at a much quicker rate. Decreasing the spring constant or increasing the mass of the slinky would both increase the time it takes for the slinky to collapse.

If that isn't clear Derek Muller has created five more videos about the behaviour of slinkies. This is the last in the mini-series but if you want more here's an intrepid slinky on treadmill.

The goal of Veritasium is to breakdown misconceptions about how the world works but also to show the beauty of science. In his own words, Muller believes that "the first minute and a half of this film is the closest I've come".