Slinkys Can Hover Mid-Air, Here's Why [Video]

As the video above will confirm, the Slinky is a rather weird toy. Its strangeness does not come from its construction, shape or function, but rather from its behavior from a purely physical point of view. When dropped, its bottom appears to hover in the air for a rather long time.

Why this happens has been something that physicists have been analyzing for a long time. The question is commonly posed to physics students around the world, since it represents a fine example of the interactions between a large number of forces.

In a new study, an expert discovered that the Slinky would behave in the same manner on the Moon or Mars, regardless of the fact that these worlds have an entirely different gravitational field from Earth.

One of the most important findings professor Bill Unruh made was that shock waves appear to develop within the toy as it falls. These formations are similar to the sonic booms an aircraft makes as it exceeds the speed of sound.