![]() ![]() It contains liquid water, which is free to slosh around inside the bottle changing the distribution of mass. That makes it very difficult to predict whether the coin will land heads or tails because it keeps spinning as it falls. Because the object is solid, the distribution of its mass does not change as it flies and spins through the air, and its moment of inertia and angular velocity remain the same. Gravity will pull the coin back down to the ground. What does that have to do with bottle-flipping? Imagine throwing a rigid object, such as a coin. You can observe this for yourself in a spinning office chair (see the link in More to explore). In order for her angular momentum to stay the same, her angular velocity must increase so she spins faster. If she pulls her arms in tightly, her moment of inertia decreases. If she is first spinning with her arms extended, she has a high moment of inertia (her mass is spread out, away from the center of her body). The classic example of this is a spinning ice skater. When no external torque acts on an object, its angular momentum must be conserved. An object's angular momentum depends on its angular velocity (how fast it is spinning) and its moment of inertia (how much its mass is spread out from a central point). To understand the physics of bottle-flipping, first you need to understand angular momentum. ![]() This might seem like a very simple concept but the physics behind it are actually quite complex-and it takes some practice to master the feat! The process involves flipping a partially filled water bottle into the air so it lands upright. If you haven’t seen it yet, check out the links in the “More to explore” section below or search for it on YouTube or your favorite social network you’re bound to find a few videos. “Bottle flipping” took the internet by storm in 2016. Even if you’ve never heard of it, give this project a try-not only can you impress your friends with a fun new trick, but you’ll also be able to explain the science behind it! The bottle-flipping craze might be dying down, but it isn’t too late to investigate the physics of this internet sensation.
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