InnovaToys - Physics Of The Sand Wand

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Magic Sand Wand

The trick is to get the ball from one end of the wand to the other, through the sand. One might think that since the steel ball is much more dense than the sand, it will sink to the bottom when the sand is agitated.

The opposite is actually true: Hold the wand vertically with the ball at or near the bottom. As you shake the wand up and down, the ball will actually rise through the column of sand. Each time the wand is jerked upwards, both the ball and the sand move up at the same speed. Because the sand particles are lighter and smaller, they experience greater relative friction than the steel ball when rubbing against each other. This causes the sand particles to slow down faster.

After each shake, more sand particles are packed underneath the steel ball, until it magically emerges from beneath the sand.

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