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I've seen a video from sixty symbols with a similar explanation (kind of). Does this have any relevance?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cxqjyl74iu4

Love this guy, Sixty Symbols and Brady.

Gooo, Sir Dr. Poliakoff! w00t!

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Tags for this video have been changed from 'sixty symbols, vihart, cgpgrey, smarter every day, Minute Physics' to 'sixty symbols, vihart, cgpgrey, smarter every day, Minute Physics, vi hart' - edited by messenger

Yeah, it struck me as pretty, but I was under the impression that the orbital plane was pretty close to the galactic plane so it would look more like the first model they showed, just adding that the sun itself was orbiting another object... Sort of like if you wanted to watch the moon in an animation like this you wouldn't show the Earth and the moon looking like a comet, but trace the Earth's orbit and show the moon's orbit around the sun. The orbital plane and galactic planes may not line up exactly but close enough I would think to offset the model presented in the video. Pretty though.
How galaxies get their spiral pattern: http://videosift.com/video/Spiral-Galaxies-Sixty-Symbols

Tags for this video have been changed from 'sixty symbols, guinness, science, beer, ale, carbonation, nitrogen, widget, 60' to 'sixty symbols, guinness, science, beer, ale, carbonation, nitrogen, widget, 60, physics' - edited by messenger

Thanks for the promote!
In reply to this comment by kulpims:
*promote

Your video, Current and Magnets - Sixty Symbols, has made it into the Top 15 New Videos listing. Congratulations on your achievement. For your contribution you have been awarded 1 Power Point.

Thanks for the promote.
In reply to this comment by messenger:
*promote drunk crystals.

Your video, Is it the Higgs Boson? - Sixty Symbols, has made it into the Top 15 New Videos listing. Congratulations on your achievement. For your contribution you have been awarded 1 Power Point.

Thanks mate!
In reply to this comment by eric3579:
*promote

Yep, I think you're right. My prediction above could only happen with initial speeds massive enough for the outgoing particle to overcome the magnetic pull, or with the magnet fixed to a spot on the track.

My next question is about why in this video the incoming ball hits twice. In a cradle, it only hits once, and all force is transmitted through the chain of balls in a single pulse, ejecting just one ball. Why should it be different with a magnet? Arguably, it should stick even stronger if there's a force holding it there. Maybe the difference is that in this video the ball is accelerating as it strikes, whereas in the cradle, as the ball's direction approaches level, it's acceleration goes down to zero, so that the moment of impact, there's zero acceleration happening.

An experiment to test this: get a track with a steady slope, and several balls. Hold a group of balls around the middle of the track, and a single ball well above them. Release the single ball towards the group, and before it strikes the group, release the group. The single ball will be accelerating relative to the group and eventually strike it. We can see how many balls are ejected out the front of the group. If more than one, then it's confirmed. If only one, then it's disconfirmed, and probably has something to do with magnetic attraction specifically.>> ^oritteropo:

Momentum can be conserved in a number of ways, and my thought was that if the ball is really stuck to that magnet then rather than ejecting the ball on the other side, the whole lot might just move along the track together. If you've ever played with neodymium magnets you'll know why I think that, the amount of effort required to unstick something from them is surprisingly large. [minor edit]

Momentum can be conserved in a number of ways, and my thought was that if the ball is really stuck to that magnet then rather than ejecting the ball on the other side, the whole lot might just move along the track together. If you've ever played with neodymium magnets you'll know why I think that, the amount of effort required to unstick something from them is surprisingly large.
>> ^messenger:

I think ideally, as momentum must be conserved, that the ball would come in, the other ball would be ejected, and decelerated until it escaped the magnetic pull going the same speed as the incoming ball was before it started accelerating.
On a real physical track like this with friction and sound energy loss, I think the ball would be ejected, not overcome the pull of the magnet, and get sucked back pretty quick. It may strike hard enough to send the other ball out a bit, but after very few iterations, they would be all stuck together.
I haven't thought yet about the effect of the magnet moving towards the first ball as it approaches. Maybe this has no net effect at all.

I think ideally, as momentum must be conserved, that the ball would come in, the other ball would be ejected, and decelerated until it escaped the magnetic pull going the same speed as the incoming ball was before it started accelerating.

On a real physical track like this with friction and sound energy loss, I think the ball would be ejected, not overcome the pull of the magnet, and get sucked back pretty quick. It may strike hard enough to send the other ball out a bit, but after very few iterations, they would be all stuck together.

I haven't thought yet about the effect of the magnet moving towards the first ball as it approaches. Maybe this has no net effect at all.>> ^oritteropo:

Well it's only a guess, since I'm too lazy to do the calculations , but I don't think the kinetic energy from the impact would be sufficient to overcome the very large magnetic force, so click and no ball ejected.
>> ^messenger:
[...] Now I want to know what would happen if there was only one ball after the magnet. What do you think?