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From the Cabinet of Physics: A Machine for Falling

By Bill Higgins  |  31 Mar 2016

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This entry is part 21 of 23 in the series From the Cabinet of Physics

In this brief video from the Cabinet of Physics, we see Morin’s Machine demonstrate that uniform horizontal motion, combined with accelerated vertical motion, together trace a path with the form of a parabola.

Such motions describe many flying and falling objects, such as a projectile shot from a cannon or catapult. The smooth curve drawn by Morin’s Machine may help a student visualize the connection between falling bodies and the algebra that generates parabolic curves.

 

The Foundation for Science and Technics, or Fondazione Scienza e Tecnica, of Florence, Italy, has made available many videos exploring the Cabinet of Physics, a large collection of antique scientific demonstration instruments.  The Foundation’s homepage may be found here, and its Youtube channel, florencefst, here.

 

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More Posts in this Series:
"From the Cabinet of Physics"

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20  |  From the Cabinet of Physics: Using a Single-Prism Spectroscope

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23  |  How I Found Florence’s Marvelous Cabinet of Physics

By Bill Higgins  |  23 Mar 2016

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