Santa Digs Science

I had the pleasure of spending the holidays with my family this year, as I’m sure most did. I personally didn’t have a long Christmas list, really no Christmas list at all. But I did receive one gift that surprised me. It is a gift that took me back to my younger years. A gift that, while simple, encompasses several physical properties that make it so perfect. What I’m talking about is the Slinky.

I must say that I was pleasantly surprised to see this gift in my stocking. So excited that I brought out the slinky so that my niece could play with it. My niece is 6…bad mistake. The reason I say this is because what happened is what always happens when you combine a child and a brand new slinky. The child somehow finds a way to deform/tangle the slinky, forever flawing that kinetically powered coil masterpiece…okay a little harsh I know, and until my brother pointed this fact out to me, I had begun to reprimand my niece in an attempt to investigate the order of events that eventually led to the slinky’s death. “Kids break Slinkys!” I just didn’t get it. My brother also reminded me of the multiple victims that fell by my hand as a child.

While I was in mourning I gained a new appreciation for the toys simple genius. Commonly called the “physics lab in a box”, this helical spring demonstrates several physical phenomena such as wave propagation, centripetal force, and energy states. Trust me, you will study all three of these topics and many more during your academic engineering career at UNT.

A quick history lesson: the slinky was invented by naval engineer Richard James in the 1940’s. He was trying to develop a component that would support and stabilize fragile instruments on ships in rough seas, and after accidentally knocking the coil down a flight of stairs, realized the object’s full potential. The slinky has now sold over 300 million units, and is the official state toy of Pennsylvania. Stories like this just go to show the endless possibilities that you get when you equip yourself so to speak with an engineering education, and that’s exactly what I’m trying to do here at UNT.