ABSTRACT
Some physical phenomena cannot be understood on the basis of statics alone; consideration of dynamics is essential in many instances. An example is the magician’s feat of pulling a table cloth from underneath a table set with fragile dinnerware and heavy silverware. If the table cloth is pulled slowly in quasi-static fashion, the table setting follows the slow motion of the table cloth to the floor. However, if the table cloth is snapped dynamically, the table setting remains in place even as the cloth is removed. The snap generates a pulse in the cloth that momentarily casts plates, glasses, knives, and forks, and so forth, upwards even as the cloth moves from underneath. With a proper snap, the cloth can be removed cleanly leaving the setting seemingly undisturbed.
