- #1
smithpa9
- 40
- 22
What do you find to be the most UN-intuitive (non-intuitive?) of classical physics (pre-QM and Relativity)?
Most people find quantum mechanics and relativity very UNinuitive, because they involve phenomenon at subatomic scales or very high speeds, both of which are well outside a human being's everyday experience.
But there are some phenomenon that are part of our everyday experience that I find equally non-intuitive. Angular momentum, for example. Why a spinnng top shouldn't fall over just like it does when it's not spinning. Why applying force to the arm of a gyroscope results in movement at a right angle instead of directly in line with the force of the push. These seem very strange and difficult to understand and explain on a conceptual or intutive level.
I'd love to hear what your votes would be for, and your best attempt to make them easier to understand.
Paul
Most people find quantum mechanics and relativity very UNinuitive, because they involve phenomenon at subatomic scales or very high speeds, both of which are well outside a human being's everyday experience.
But there are some phenomenon that are part of our everyday experience that I find equally non-intuitive. Angular momentum, for example. Why a spinnng top shouldn't fall over just like it does when it's not spinning. Why applying force to the arm of a gyroscope results in movement at a right angle instead of directly in line with the force of the push. These seem very strange and difficult to understand and explain on a conceptual or intutive level.
I'd love to hear what your votes would be for, and your best attempt to make them easier to understand.
Paul