2 Forks + Toothpick + Fire

[PA HS Teacher]

If you've never seen this trick it is a must see.

I do it in my physics classes, and finally got around to getting it on HD Video.
Thougtht this crowd might appreciate.

<param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/tpxVjh1LQEc?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/tpxVjh1LQEc?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="300" height="225"></embed></object>

 

[cornflakegirl]

They did this in The West Wing - it's very cool!

 

[xenou]

Do not try to balance the forks on the rim of a glass — that's impossible. Instead, only try to realize the truth: there are no forks.

 

[Taul]

Gravity is a myth; the Earth sucks, but the forks don't know that

 

[MrKowz]

Do not try to balance the forks on the rim of a glass — that's impossible. Instead, only try to realize the truth: there are no forks.

Free your mind

 

[Jonmo1]

That's wicked.

I get the center of mass part, and why it balances. And it is a very cool illusion. I will be impressing friends and family with it soon.

But I don't get why the toothpick doesn't continue to burn all the way, why it stops halfway.

Is it because the heat is dissapated into the glass, causing the fire to go out?
Or is the weight of the forks making the mass of the toothpick to dense or something ?

 

[Taul]

take a look here, scroll to the bottom for a theory on why the flame goes out

http://scienceblogs.com/principles/2007/12/the_twofork_toothpick_trick_ex.php