71
FIGURING IT OUT
The chain fountain was a mystery until two
scientists, John Biggins and Mark Warner, figured
out what was going on. They showed that just as
the chain leaves the pile, it pushes down a little on
the pile. Thanks to Isaac Newton and his laws of
motion, we know that when you push something,
that thing pushes back. So the pile pushes back on
the chain, causing it to rise up....then watch
the beads fly!GOING HIGHER
If you can make the chain
fall faster, you increase the
pushing forces and the chain
rises even higher. To do this,
you raise the jar higher so
the chain has further to fall.
The record is a 5 ft (1.5 m)
high loop above the jar!THE^ BEADS (^) G
O
UP
(^) B
E F O R E T H E Y
G^
O
D^
O
W
N
!
The chain pushes
the pile down...
and the pile pushes
the chain up!
US_070-071_The_chain_fountain.indd 71 12/09/2018 15:50