playing cards, on edge in a spiral
playing cards, face down in a spiral

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Code Number: 1A20.28

Demo Title:  Statistics and Probability - Chirality

Condition:  Good

Principle: Probabilities

Area of Study: Mechanics

Equipment: 

Cloth Covered Board, Deck of Cards.

Procedure: 

Set the cards up on the board as shown.  It is easiest to start with 4 cards first and then fill in the quadrants with additional cards.  After the demo is set, you can knock on the table or the board and either get left or right-handed chirality when the cards fall.

References:

  • Martin Garder, "Physics Trick of the Month: Broken Symmetry", TPT, Vol. 38, #9, Dec. 2000, p. 564.
  • Johanna L. Miller, "Magnets Separate Mirror-Image Molecules", Physics Today, Vol. 71, #7, July 2018, p. 14.
  • Brett A. McGuire and P. Brandon Carroll, "Mirror Asymmetry in Life and in Space", Physics Today, Vol. 69, #11, Nov. 2016, p. 86.
  • Johanna Miller, "Macroscopic Chiral Crystals Can Segregate Themselves", Physics Today, Vol. 66, #10, Oct. 2013, p. 14.
  • Martin Gardner, "72, Broken Symmetry", Smart Science Tricks, p. 108 - 109.