Old Tablecloth Trick

Have you ever wondered what will happen to several plates which lie on a table when a person pulls the tablecloth out quickly?

Watch the video for the answer.



If you are puzzled as to why the plates did not fall off the table with the tablecloth, then you should read up on the physics concept of inertia.

In physics, inertia is the tendency of an object (with mass) to resist a change in its motion or state of rest. Therefore, for an object which is at rest, it will always remain at rest, unless a resultant force is applied directly to the object.

The plates on the table were at rest initially. Hence, they would remain at rest when the tablecloth is pulled out so quickly that the frictional force between the cloth and underside of the plates cannot come into effect (hence there is no direct resultant force acting on the plates). The plates will remain at rest at their original positions.