Inertial Hammer

PIRA: 1F20.60

Overview:

The hammer head is bolted tightly to the PVC pipe, which generates a lot of friction. This prevents the hammer head from moving up or down with the pipe. The hammer head also has inertia that we can work with to move the hammer. When we hit the pipe with the rubber mallet, we force the pipe quickly downward. The hammer head ends up moving up the pipe due to its inertia overcoming the friction force from the pipe.

Materials:

Inertial hammer

Rubber mallet

Setup:

Place the hammer and mallet on a table for easy access.

How to:

Take the inertial hammer and hold it so the head is towards the ground. Shake it up and down a few times to show that the hammer head is stuck on the pipe. Take the rubber mallet and hit the top end of the pipe hard.

Safety:

Be careful of hitting fingers with the mallet.