Design Squad
How Does a Slinky Work?
Clip | 2m 33sVideo has Closed Captions
Watch as Deysi explains the physics behind how a slinky toy works.
Watch as Deysi explains how a slinky toy works.
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
Design Squad
How Does a Slinky Work?
Clip | 2m 33sVideo has Closed Captions
Watch as Deysi explains how a slinky toy works.
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
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Hi, I'm Deysi from Design Squad, and we got a question from Harrypotter5753, who wants to know, "How does a Slinky work?"
Excellent question, Harrypotter5753.
I love Slinkys.
They're so much fun when they walk down the stairs, and they're so cute.
Slinkys have been around since 1945.
They were designed by naval engineer Richard James to be used as springs to keep instruments steady on a boat.
But the Navy didn't want his springs.
Richard's wife thought the springs would make fun toys, and she was right!
You'll notice that Slinkys are easy to stretch out, but they also snap right back to their original size, kind of like an accordion.
♪ La, la, la, la, la-la... ♪ When you walk a Slinky down the stairs, it flips end over end very slowly.
They stretch out and then compress again and again from step to step.
The big ideas that explain how a Slinky stretches and compresses are: potential energy, kinetic energy, and momentum.
If you hold a Slinky at the top of the stairs, it has potential energy.
This is stored energy, or energy that is about to be released.
Here's an example of potential energy: when you stretch a rubber band back, it stores energy.
When you release it, it transforms the potential energy into kinetic energy, and...
It flies!
If you try to start your Slinky out on the floor, there's no potential energy and you can't get it to walk.
The higher up the stairs you start your Slinky, the more potential energy your Slinky has.
What helps the Slinky keep moving down the stairs is its momentum.
Momentum is a combination of weight and speed.
If you have something heavy and it's going fast, then you've got a lot of momentum and it's hard for it to stop.
The Slinky has enough momentum to keep moving one end over the other.
Try experimenting with a Slinky on different staircases or along boards at different angles, and make sure to let us know what you find out.
Thanks again, Harrypotter5753, and if you have any more engineering questions, make sure to send them to the Design Squad website at pbs.org.
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