Slinky

Slinky (English to slink: sneak ), invented around 1945 by the mechanic Richard James from Philadelphia (Pennsylvania), is a toy made ​​of a metal or plastic coil spring that animates to a wide variety of games. So slinky, for example, a rise stairs. The idea originated many toys. The toy dog ​​Slink or Slinkydog made ​​a career in the Pixar film Toy Story.

Observations using a high speed camera show that behave stretched Slinkys while falling follows: Once the connection is interrupted at the end of the bracket, the topmost turn sets in motion. When she meets the next bottom turn, they fall together in a " block " which increases continuously. Meanwhile remains that part of Slinkys, which was not captured by the " block ", motionless in the air. This fact is explained by the fact that the lower end of the block at a rate greater than the wave speed in the Slinky moved. Are all the turns covered by the block, the Slinky falls closed to the ground. This observation could be explained with the aid of a physical model.

Sebastian Krämer has dedicated the song Slinky thing that can go down the stairs.

The term " Slinky " is used in fashion for fall slightly, soft clothing. So there is slinky pants, skirts, dresses, jackets, T -shirts, tops and more. All have in common that they are straight cut and are made of soft, elastic jersey fabrics, not on a tight body and fall to gravity.