Snap That Spaghetti (Funky Physics Experiments)

You will need:

1. Spaghetti

Challenge a friend to do this simple game. No matter
how many times he tries, he will never get it right.

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Try it yourself, or ask a friend, to snap a piece of spaghetti with his hands.
2. The trick is not to break it in more than 2 pieces.

RESULT

Try any number of times, but the spaghetti almost always snaps in 3, 4 or even 5 pieces, but never 2. After confounding some of the best minds in physics, this experiment is explained based on Newton’s second law (every action has an equal and opposite reaction). Hence, when the spaghetti is bent, it snaps. And when it snaps, it begins to straighten, which pushes on the already bent pieces of spaghetti, causing it to snap once again breaking it into 3 pieces. This second break can trigger more breaks.