Example if I have a plate of food and drop the plate it will always land food side down on the ground, or a bowl of frosting for a cake always lands upside down.
2006-10-10 05:54:29 · 6 answers · asked by greatguynatl 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Physics
Usually when you drop something accidentally, it is partly because the plate, dish, or bowl is putting too much torque on your fingers. This happens when you hold something by the edge instead of supporting it under the center.
When you drop an object under torque, it will spin around its center of gravity. This results in the bowl, plate, or dish turning upside down.
But it is possible to drop a plate so that it will not spin: just don't torque it before the drop. Balance a plate on one finger, then quickly remove your finger and allow the plate to fall. It will not turn over.
2006-10-10 06:02:47 · answer #1 · answered by Keith P 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It doesn't. However, there is a tendency when you "drop" an object to flip it, so that it will make one turn on the way down.
There is a TV show called MythBusters on the Discovery Channel that did a test of this myth and determined that it was the way the object dropped that made the difference.
Further, consider your own experience when you actually drop a full plate or bowl it will usually land on the bottom side, because you release it evenly.
2006-10-10 06:03:25 · answer #2 · answered by rehabob 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If the mass of the object on top of the plate is greater then the mass of the plate itself then the plate will flip over (because it has potential energy) to reach equillibrium.
2006-10-10 06:13:48 · answer #3 · answered by sphereeversion 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I heard of a man who buttered a slice of bread and dropped it, but it fell butter-side-up! He took it to the rabbi, who consulted the Talmudic scholars, who reported back that it was perfectly clear that it was the man's fault for buttering the bread on the wrong side!
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2006-10-10 06:03:18 · answer #4 · answered by Jack430 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
typically the weight on/in the dish is not evenly distributed, which causes the dish to tip over towards the heavier side when falling. also, typically when you drop a dish you don't drop both sides simultaneously but rather drop one side of it, which also causes the dish to tip towards the side that lacks support.
2006-10-10 06:04:15 · answer #5 · answered by bored 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Murphy's law!
The same reason that jelly bread always lands jelly-side down.
2006-10-10 06:05:35 · answer #6 · answered by ursaitaliano70 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋