Fun with science at bookofjoe

From time to time readers email me pictures.

Occasionally, just for the heck of it and to break up the atmosphere of gloom and despair that generally prevails here at bookofjoe World Headquarters, I print one out and put it up in front of the TV in my treadmill office (above).

Just now I was looking at today's picture when I noticed that it wasn't supported by anything solid: it appeared to be floating.

What's that all about?, I wondered.

Now, you need to know that I was — and am, even as I conduct my scientific investigation of what might be, after all, the new cold fusion — listening to DirecTV's light classical channel (866) as I usually do in the morning.

It's actually XM satellite radio now that DirecTV has partnered with XM but please — try to stay on subject, OK?

Sheesh.

Anyway, there's nothing to see on the screen when the music channels are playing on TV so that's why I put up my picture then.

I approached the screen and pulled the piece of paper away from it — but not before noticing that the picture wanted to stay on the glass.

It was attracted to the TV.

I never learned that paper was magnetic, or glass for that matter.

So you see there is a whole new world of physics out there just waiting for the 21st century to bring it into focus.

I proceeded with all due diligence to perform a careful analysis of the situation.

It turns out that the attractive force does not require a functioning TV: the paper adhered even after I unplugged it.

I looked carefully at the screen but noticed no peanut butter and/or jelly residue that might account for this mysterious paper adhesion.

I next attempted to quantitate the power of the force.

It turns out that the TV — a 13" Sony cathode ray tube version, model #KV-13FS100 which, if you want to be like me you can purchase for $179.99 here [super picture and sound, by the way] — produces enough force to hold against its glass front two (2) sheets of 8.5" x 11" Epson Premium Bright White paper along with the single staple (Swingline model #35450, $2.95 for a box of 5,000 here) holding the two sheets together.

You will want to know that the weight of the materials described above (paper + staple) = 10 grams (0.35 oz.).

What could this strange force be?

Is it, perhaps, a smidge of the dark energy

said to make up 65% of the universe?

I wonder what Lisa Randall thinks.

Stay tuned.