Ewen Posted November 27, 2009 Share Posted November 27, 2009 This cropped up at work today....:dNO GOOGLING ! A cork, say from a wine bottle, is held by a robotic clamp at the bottom of a bucket of water and released the moment the bucket is dropped off the side of a tall building. What will happen to the cork during the fall? Will it float to the top of the bucket normally, slower than normal, faster than normal, or not at all? Assume that there is no air resistance to slow the bucket down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Why T Posted November 27, 2009 Share Posted November 27, 2009 i say it will float the same as normal. When will we here the answer? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pistonbroke Posted November 27, 2009 Share Posted November 27, 2009 It will float to the top as normal. ..................do we have to explain why? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tooquicktostop Posted November 27, 2009 Share Posted November 27, 2009 was it red or white wine ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ewen Posted November 27, 2009 Author Share Posted November 27, 2009 When will we here the answer? Oooh, long way off yet, unless someone googles it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesG Posted November 27, 2009 Share Posted November 27, 2009 I think the cork will stay where it is as there's no longer a force acting upwards on it. It's the same as if there was a big tank of water in space and you put a cork in the middle of it. The cork wouldn't go in any particular direction. Am i right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ewen Posted November 27, 2009 Author Share Posted November 27, 2009 was it red or white wine ? Irrelevant to the issue in hand. But if it helps you, it was a particularly cheeky Shiraz. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hogmaw Posted November 27, 2009 Share Posted November 27, 2009 Float to top as normal, why wouldn't it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tooquicktostop Posted November 27, 2009 Share Posted November 27, 2009 Irrelevant to the issue in hand. But if it helps you, it was a particularly cheeky Shiraz. Ahh, was it one of those New World plastic corks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hackin_n_bashin Posted November 27, 2009 Share Posted November 27, 2009 Had this one in a aerospace lecture a few (fair few!) years ago, if I remember rightly its a lot to do with the words free fall and no air resistance Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ewen Posted November 27, 2009 Author Share Posted November 27, 2009 One correct answer so far. Does that help ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lbm Posted November 27, 2009 Share Posted November 27, 2009 Does the bucket rotate or stay upright and is this relevant? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ewen Posted November 27, 2009 Author Share Posted November 27, 2009 Does the bucket rotate or stay upright and is this relevant? Not explained in the original question, but its assumed the bucket stays upright as it falls...axial rotation won't make a difference to the fizziks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tooquicktostop Posted November 27, 2009 Share Posted November 27, 2009 is it a metal or plastic bucket Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaz6002 Posted November 27, 2009 Share Posted November 27, 2009 If the bucket was on a treadmill, and the cork was a plane, and the treadmill was infinitely awesome, and the bucket had an infinitely big handle, and it held a rare vintage Ruinart Champagne (sans-bubbles), should I have cooked dinner by now? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ewen Posted November 27, 2009 Author Share Posted November 27, 2009 is it a metal or plastic bucket Either I reckon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ewen Posted November 27, 2009 Author Share Posted November 27, 2009 If the bucket was on a treadmill, and the cork was a plane, and the treadmill was infinitely awesome, and the bucket had an infinitely big handle, and it held a rare vintage Ruinart Champagne (sans-bubbles), should I have cooked dinner by now? Half past seven. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJI Posted November 27, 2009 Share Posted November 27, 2009 ok...as my degree course had a lot of physics in it I'll give this a go... I am looking at this scenario as if it were in space.... ie.gravity taken out of the equation as everything is falling at the same rate (g). If you let a cork go in a zero g environment then what dictates the direction the cork should travel if it was just buoyancy force that was acting.....the answer should surely be no direction (as in zero g there is no up or down - as up and down is all relative to the direction of gravity). Therefore ....( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaz6002 Posted November 27, 2009 Share Posted November 27, 2009 Half past seven. Damn it. DAMN IT ALL! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephendjb Posted November 27, 2009 Share Posted November 27, 2009 It would stay where it is Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Posted November 27, 2009 Share Posted November 27, 2009 The reason a cork floats is because it has air in it though. The air would still want to rise in the water regardless of whether they were falling or not. Taking air out of the equation the cork would stay exactly where it is. Saying that, when we do freefall in a plane we are still heavier than the air yet we don't sink into it. with that understanding I would say it would stay exactly where it is regardless of air. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJI Posted November 27, 2009 Share Posted November 27, 2009 The reason a cork floats is because it has air in it though. The air would still want to rise in the water regardless of whether they were falling or not. Taking air out of the equation the cork would stay exactly where it is. but if you had a bucket of water on the space station and let it go....which direction would this 'rise' be in? There is no up or down in zero G so how would the cork know which way was 'rise'? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephendjb Posted November 27, 2009 Share Posted November 27, 2009 But by dropping it you take gravity out of the equation so no up ur down Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Posted November 27, 2009 Share Posted November 27, 2009 but if you had a bucket of water on the space station and let it go....which direction would this 'rise' be in? There is no up or down in zero G so how would the cork know which way was 'rise'? I edited Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tooquicktostop Posted November 27, 2009 Share Posted November 27, 2009 but if you had a bucket of water on the space station and let it go....which direction would this 'rise' be in? There is no up or down in zero G so how would the cork know which way was 'rise'? Would that not be dangerous with all that electrical equipment about Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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