1.    Flip the switch on the base to turn on the fan.

2.    Place the beach ball into the air stream.

3.    Observe how the ball is suspended to see Bernoulli's Principle at work.

    Bernoulli's Principle deals with pressure of a fluid.  It states that as the velocity of a fluid increases, its pressure decreases.

    So what does this mean?  Airplanes fly in a way similar to how the ball is floating.  The air moving around the ball changes speed and pressure as it passes by the ball.  The ball is suspended by the different amounts of air pressure moving around its surface.

    You will also notice that if the ball is pulled slowly out of the stream of air, a force is felt trying to pull the ball back into the air stream.  This, too, is a result of Bernoulli's Principle.

    A good illustration of how our exhibit works can be found at the left.  The net force upwards is the air the fan is blowing.  As the air is blowing on the ball, there is low pressure above it, but high pressure below it.  This is what allows the ball to float above the fan.

To view our exhibit construction page, click here.

To view our research page, click here.

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