Will the ball drop if I pull quickly? ⬇️🤔 #physics #DrDawson #shorts

A heavy ball has a hook on its top and bottom. The ball is hung by a light string through the top hook from a metal rod. The string is light enough that if the ball is dropped the mass will snap the string. A second string is attached to the bottom hook. A second metal rod is then inserted into a loop on the bottom string. If the second metal rod is pulled down slowly, the top string will break and the ball will fall. The top string must support the mass of everything below it. Pulling down slowly causes the tension in the top string to increase slowly and eventually snap. The experiment is repeated by hanging the ball again, but this time the second metal rod is pulled down very quickly. In this instance, the bottom string breaks while the top string continues to hold the ball in place. By pulling down on the rod very quickly, there is a large increase in tension in the bottom string and it snaps. The ball has a lot of mass and a lot of inertia. When we pull down on the string quickly, it doesn't want to accelerate so the force isn't transferred to the upper string. Since the upper string doesn't experience a significant increase in force, the string remains whole and doesn't snap. This demonstration was presented by Dr. Dawson Nodurft, professor at @tamu. 👍 Like and subscribe for fun science content! ➡️ Follow links at linktr.ee/tamuphysastr #tamu #science #tension #ball #shortvideo #viral