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Summary: How to explain Bernoulli's theorem to kids using a ping pong ball and plastic bottle in this free home science video
Views: 4,120 | Tags: kids, learning, fun, science, experiment, bernoulli's, theorem, educational
About the Expert
Scott Thompson Scott Thompson has been teaching kids of all ages for about twenty years. He currently works for the Wisconsin Public School system teaching science and other... read more
Hi! I'm Scott Thompson from expertvillage.com, and today I am going to demonstrate Bernoulli's theorem using a soda bottle and a ping pong ball...with this vacuum cleaner exhaust... But what is keeping this heavier ball in the stream of air is also Bernoulli's's principle. The airflow is going around the outside of the ball, which creates a low pressure, right about my finger tips are, near the ball. Because that is low pressure, the ball continually is kind of bouncing around, but it won't go into the higher pressure area and fall off to the side. It kind of hunts around and is always seeking out that balance point, but it's still because of the low pressure condition caused by the fast moving air. That's Bernoulli's's principle. The effect that we see here with the ball and airflow is really the same thing that keeps birds flying and airplanes up in the air. That fast moving air over the top of an airplane wing speeds up, creates a low pressure area—lower pressure compared to what's underneath the wing. That's what can keep even the heaviest jet planes flying through the air.