A wave of recent online videos showing the bottom of a dropped
Slinky hovering in midair has scientists taking a closer look at
the toy many of us played with as a kid. Grab a Slinky from the
toy box and try this experiment at home. STEP 1: Hold the Slinky
allowing it to levitate in the air. STEP 2: Drop the Slinky and
observe closely. If you look close enough you will observe that
the bottom coils stay suspended in the air. As you hold the
slinky in the air, gravity pulls down. That downward pull is
balanced by the upward pull of tension created by the coils
above the coils at the bottom. When you let the Slinky go, the
bottom stays suspended as the top collapses. As the slinky
collapses the coils slam into each other creating a wave
downward that eventually reaches the bottom coils telling them
to fall to the ground. Go to hookedonscience.org for more
experiments that might get you “Hooked on Science.”