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Heat to mechanical energy


Bob_for_short

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Bob posed 3 empty cups (mugs) upon a counter top. When he pours boiling water, the cups slide freely for about 20 cm, like skating on ice.

_the counter top is not perfectly level.(as Bob stated)

_there is water upon the counter top.

_the cups are not dry (he just washed the cups with cold water)

_one of the cup missed moving before even the boiling water was poured.

_the counter top seems to be made of light laminate (like a side table top), not a regular kitchen counter top.

C'est juste Vladi?

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Bob posed 3 empty cups (mugs) upon a counter top. When he pours boiling water, the cups slide freely for about 20 cm, like skating on ice.

_the counter top is not perfectly level.(as Bob stated)

That's right but the slope is practically invisible.

_there is water upon the counter top.

Yes, the table is not dry. I removed sugar spots and other obstacles.

_the cups are not dry (he just washed the cups with cold water)
Correct.
_one of the cups started moving before even the boiling water was poured.

Yes, and I left this episode on purpose as a hint.

_the counter top seems to be made of light laminate (like a side table top), not a regular kitchen counter top. C'est juste Vladi?

No, it's a regular table, not laminated. It's a table in our coffee room at work where lots of people drink tea and coffee every day. Nobody before me has made this experiment. It looks like a miracle to everybody - so unusual it is to see it in the everyday circumstances.

 

It does not work with cold water. Hot water or coffee is needed.

 

What is the real mechanism of this effect?

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What is the real mechanism of this effect?

 

Guess: there is thin air layer between the cup and the table because the cup's bottom is not flat. When you put hot water into the cup, the air expands and tend to rise the cup which moves along the slippery surface (because the water from the humid cup is acting both as a sealing material and as a slippery surface).

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_I don't think it has anything to do with QM.

 

_The cup's center of gravity is decentered due to the cup's hand. The horizontal motion is exactly in the hand's opposite direction because when the cup raises, the air pressure is decentered. The second cup makes a turn before sliding, I suppose due to the lack of perfect horizontality.

_funny experiment. Some ships are based on such a principle. They input the exhaust gases into a concave part of the hull (carene), creating an air layer between the water and the ship. They reduce by this way a large amount of the ship's friction. I'll see if I can find a link about this technology.

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No, there is no QM effect of course, it was a joke.

 

The cups may turn depending on the torque due to friction asymmetry while moving. It is determined with the local surface quality and the cup asymmetry. Sometimes I observed as a cup makes a left turn and then a right one while moving.

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_I don't think it has anything to do with QM.

 

_The cup's center of gravity is decentered due to the cup's hand. The horizontal motion is exactly in the hand's opposite direction because when the cup raises, the air pressure is decentered. The second cup makes a turn before sliding, I suppose due to the lack of perfect horizontality.

_funny experiment. Some ships are based on such a principle. They input the exhaust gases into a concave part of the hull (carene), creating an air layer between the water and the ship. They reduce by this way a large amount of the ship's friction. I'll see if I can find a link about this technology.

 

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=air-cavity-system

 

http://www.teknologiportalen.dk/EN/Teknologi/Transportation+and+Logistics/Ships+-+Maritime+technology/070711_aircavitysystem.htm

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