Published by: DISCOVERY (Karma: 1711.74) on 26 February 2011 | Views: 1860
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The Way Things Work - Springs
In Springs, a visiting inventor observes a family harvesting coconuts on Mammoth Island, using a number of devices called springs. Springs come in two shapes: There are coil springs, and there are bending bars -- called "leaf springs"-- which is what the islanders use to improve their coconut collecting. When a spring is bent, the molecules on one side are pushed together while the molecules on the other side are pulled apart. So once the bending force is removed, the molecules rapidly "spring" back into their natural places. Springs store potential energy when they are stretched or compressed. This stored energy is transferred to the energy of motion -- causing the coconuts to go flying through the air!
Grades: 3 to 6
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The Way Things Work - Springs
In Springs, a visiting inventor observes a family harvesting coconuts on Mammoth Island, using a number of devices called springs. Springs come in two shapes: There are coil springs, and there are bending bars -- called "leaf springs"-- which is what the islanders use to improve their coconut collecting. When a spring is bent, the molecules on one side are pushed together while the molecules on the other side are pulled apart. So once the bending force is removed, the molecules rapidly "spring" back into their natural places. Springs store potential energy when they are stretched or compressed. This stored energy is transferred to the energy of motion -- causing the coconuts to go flying through the air!
