Feynman and Pauling Video Snippets . . .  Feynman's Interest in SpaghettiIn a 1993 Nova program (by film-maker Sykes) and the 1994 book "No Ordinary Genuis" (edited by Sykes) Daniel W. Hillis fondly recalls an evening with Feynman breaking spaghetti, unsuccessfully trying to discover why it breaks in three pieces. Here is a video snippet of the interview:Spaghetti Stumps The Chief. 150KB, 60 secs The seemingly simple problem was succinctly posed by Hillis as "Why does spaghetti break in 3 pieces?" Well, it doesn't always break in exactly 3 peices, but it happens often enough that many children and adults have probably wondered about it. Such a simple observation defying explanation from a great physicist sparked the interest of a lot of people - especially Feynman fans. At the bottom of this page you can see newsgroup posts from 1993 wondering about it in response to the Nova program. In 1998, I made a feeble attempt at illucidating the vibrations with a camcorder, trying to determine which way the pieces were spinning. Of course the pictures were blurry and it was difficult to see the direction of the middle piece spinning and which end broke first. The problem and persuit of the solution is "in the spirit" of Feynman by combining a simple problem that potentially strikes at the core of a larger group of problems, humility towards our lack of understanding, and fun. An illucidation of the solution was provided in 2005 by a January 2005 research paper followed by an August 2005 paper, both in Physical Review Letters. This sparked media coverage, the best of which was in Science News Other Feynman Videos
Linus PaulingPauling wrote a letter to Feynman to try to get him to try vitamin C for his stomach cancer, right after the first surgery. Pauling's research indicated those with stomach cancer (although not necessarily Feynman's particular rare type) would live 4 times longer on 10 g a day. For several reasonable reasons, Feynman politely rejected Pauling's request but wrote that he would nevertheless give the research data over to the talented doctor Feynman trusted.Pauling's achievements are, I believe, greater than Feynman's largely because his work was more closely related to helping other people rather than just doing things in the physical and technological world for fun. Pauling got a really big kick (or maybe an ego trip if you want to be negative) out of thinking he was helping the world in some way. I think Feynman might have been more concerned with having fun and doing what was right without getting in trouble, blowing things up, or being mistaken. Pauling stayed in trouble and was a little bit out on a limb in sometimes, but he was, as Feynman said in a Nova program on Pauling, usually right. Pauling lived 23 years longer than Feynman which was 30 years longer than Pauling he expected. Pauling attributed his unexpected long lifespan to vitamin C in large doses.
"For three days I have been listening to talks about the value of large intakes of vitamin C and other natural substances, and I have not heard a single mention of the name Linus Pauling. Has not the time come when we should admit that Pauling was right all along?" -- Carlos Krumdieck MD to standing ovation at 1992 New York Academy of Sciences symposium in Arlington, VA vit c foundation Courtesy of heelspurs.com
==================== Benjamin J. Tilly Dec 26 1993, 1:59 pm Newsgroups: sci.physics Subject: Spaghetti? There was a problem mentioned on the NOVA program about Feynman which is why spaghetti breaks into three pieces when you snap it. Feynman and a friend of his were not able to come up with a good answer despite several hours and a lot of broken spaghetti. Well I began thinking about it and I have no real idea what the answer is either, but I have noticed that if I bend it slowly then it breaks in two *unequal* pieces instead of three. So what I would guess is that it breaks in two unequal pieces and then the recoil of the longer piece snaps that in two. Or it could have something to do with the position of the hands when you break it. But I do not know. So would anyone out there like to take a highspeed camera and some spaghetti and run some quick experiments? Any other theories out there? Ben Tilly ============ Matt Heavner Dec 27 1993, 2:49 am show options Newsgroups: sci.physics Subject: Re: Spaghetti? I also tried to do some spaghetti experiments after watching the Feynman special on Nova. I was using the long spaghetti (twice the length of 'normal' spaghetti--or about 2/3 meter instead of 1/3 meter). When I held it at each end, it split into two pieces. Then when I took one of those two pieces (nearly the same size) and broke it, it split into three pieces. I could take some of the smaller pieces and break them--either into two or three pieces. It seems that the length of the spaghetti is important... I didn't get lots of data however, the sauce also had to be made.... Matt Heavner ================== Nov 16, 1999, sci.physics.research I would think about shockwaves being created at the first break up. I bet if one measures the process you'll find two peaks separated by a split of a second. And they might have opposite signs also. BTW: The equipment to use would be a camera, a flashlight and an acoustic sensor. -- Lorenz Borsche http://www.borsche.de =================== Dr. Michael Albert wrote: > strands tend to break into three pieces instead of two, > with the central pieces being ejected with considerable If you bend a single spaghetti, there are two points where the curvature is maximal, so it will break at one of them, thus removing the tension from the other one. If you have a bundle, the ones broken e.g. at the right point are kept in place by the non-broken ones, so they still fell the tension at the left point and break there too. Those who break only at one point will act as springs and eject the central pieces of the doubly-broken ones. Ralf ========================= Charles Francis Nov 18 1999, 3:00 am >If you bend a single spaghetti, there are two points where the >curvature is maximal, so it will break at one of them, thus >removing the tension from the other one. I thought this was not my experience, so I tested it, on six individual strands. In each case the spaghetti broke first at the point of maximum curvature, creating a whiplash effect in each of the pieces, which broke again at least once, ejecting the pieces with some speed. In no instance did I obtain less than four pieces, only twice did I obtain four pieces, and on one occaision there seemed to be seven pieces. The experiment may depend on who is holding the ends of the spaghetti, and also the brand. -- Charles Francis ===================== Well, now, this is interesting. I always thought this odd-fracturing rule reflected some pretty deep topology. I'll have to check my fallible memory and report back, though. Meanwhile, someone please get a bunch of identical paper soda straws. Stand one on end and press until it buckles. Repeat until you see a pattern. I think you should almost always fractures into three pieces in zig-zag fashion, never two or four, but sometimes five pieces. Next, try the same thing with single sphagetti strands. If you are careful to press vertically, I'd guess you get three piece fracturing. Experimentalists, to your lab benches! :-) Chris Hillman |
