GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — We are going to watch science make a ping pong ball float. How can we make this little ball float without even touching it? In this week's Weather Kids Experiment, we're learning about the forces acting with and against it.
What you need:
- Ping pong ball
- Bendable straw
Step 1: Bend the short end of the straw upward.
Step 2: While blowing through the straw, place the ping pong ball in the stream of air.
Step 3: Continue to change the amount of pressure you force on the air stream and watch what happens to the ping pong ball.
Did you get your ping pong ball to float? Multiple forces are acting on the ping pong ball. A force is a push or pull putting an object in motion, right? Here, gravity pulls the ping pong ball down toward earth while our breath pushes the ping pong ball back upward. Each force has both a strength and direction. The fast air stream flowing around the aerodynamic ping pong ball creates lower pressure directly around the ball. The higher the pressure gets surrounding the ball it forces the ball into our stream of air. When we can get these two forces to balance the ping pong ball floats! You can also try this with a hair dryer!