The physics of walking

[TomO]

So when I was in 8th grade my science teacher was discussing physics with the class. He stated that the reason you move forward when you walk is because the Earth is pushing back on your foot as you push on the Earth. He also stated that when you drink from a straw, the air pressure outside of the straw is pushing on the liquid forcing it up the straw when you decrease the pressure within the straw.

I told this to a class of 5th graders at my work yesterday and they didn't believe me, lol.

It all makes sense though...For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction; you push on the Earth with your mass and the Earth pushes back with an equal force but since the Earth's mass is greater than your mass, you move.

I remember Asking my Science teacher a question after he said all this to us: "So what happens when I jump? Does the Earth move towards me?". He answered "Yes, but the movement is so minuscule that it cannot be measured".

So was he razzing us back then or what do you believe?

[luvit]

am i walking east or west? am i waking to the engine or the caboose?

every action has a reaction, but really.. my suckiness is what makes my soda move in my straw..
i move because i try.. and i fight gravity.

in school i was told all kinds of things that were wrong:
blood in the body is blue until it is exposed to oxygen in the air, then turns red.
i was also told that buffalo were extinct.

[tasdrouille]

Some things just work, and most people are satisfied not knowing how they work, but we ain't like most people are we?

If they don't believe you, why don't you show them? I particularly like this example of Newton's third law : "When you punch an object, the object applies equal force back on your fist. You may experience this reactive force as pain."

[shovel]

werd, we get told all sorts of silly BS as children, like that gravity is a "pull" force and that some invisible sky wizard fashioned us out of dust to be his playtime pals.

[NeilBlanchard]

No, I push the Earth, therefore I move more than it does.

[MadisonMPG]

If you sucked on a straw, and the atmospheric pressure outside the straw decreased exactly as fast as you could suck, you would get no drink.

It takes two to tango.

[gone-ot]

...some long-dead famous British guy once said: "...every action has an equal and opposite RE-action."

[TomO]

Originally Posted by tasdrouille

Some things just work, and most people are satisfied not knowing how they work, but we ain't like most people are we?

If they don't believe you, why don't you show them? I particularly like this example of Newton's third law : "When you punch an object, the object applies equal force back on your fist. You may experience this reactive force as pain."

Hmm, I could punch one of the bigger fifth graders to demonstrate this, although I might lose my job, lol.

I like not being like other people, but being like the people on this forum. So wait, that makes me like you people even though I like being different from other people...And that makes me unique! Just like everyone else!

[Frank Lee]

Smokey says think of engine induction as atmospheric pressure pushing air/fuel into the engine, not engine vaccuum pulling mix in.

[gone-ot]

...true, but in the "Three Little Piggies" nursey rhyme, they don't "...SUCK the straw, wood and brick houses down!"