Glider with magnets

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Back to 1H - Newton's Third Law
PIRA index: 1H10.90

Description

Magnets on the end of two gliders on an air track simulate friction-less elastic and inelastic collisions.

Equipment

  • air track with pump and tubing, power cable
  • two gliders
  • magnet attachments

Instructions

Connect the air track to the pump and turn it on. Insert the magnetic attachments into the gliders and softly collide them. Magnets with similar polarity will repel (elastic collision) while those with opposite polarity with attract (inelastic collision).

Keywords

air, track, friction-less, collision, magnet, glider, motion, detector, sensor

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