The crown of an eggshell can support heavy books because the weight is distributed evenly along the structure of the egg. The Coanda Effect is the tendency of a fluid to follow the wall contour of a curved surface. In this case, air acts like a fluid and follows the contour of the round container. When the streams meet on the other side, they combine to blow out the candle. The streams of water are held together by the water s stickiness, or surface tension.
Surface tension is the tendency of the surface of a liquid to behave as though covered with a skin.
This is due to the cohesive forces between the molecules at and near the surface. Newton's Apple is a production of KTCA Twin Cities Public Television. Made possible by a grant from 3M. Educational materials developed with the National Science Teachers Association.