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Stable Mates Inquiry   

We might ask why Nature chooses to arrange things according to certain patterns. In this exercise, you will be messing about with some special marbles. Let’s call them “concentrically constructed dipolar spheroids” for now. Your task is to determine how they “work”, how to test for stability of assembled structures, and to determine which structures are the most stable. You will also take a look at the forces between the marbles and groups of marbles when they interact.

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Required Equipment
Magnetic Marbles.

Acknowledgements: Thank you to Dr. J.R. Harkay author of Phenomenal Physics for providing this student inquiry activity. Adapted from “Stable Mates,” an Inquiry Exercise by J. R. Harkay. See www.PhenomenalPhysics.com for more information on the complete Guided Inquiry Curriculum.

Dr. Russell Harkay
Keene State College
New Hampshire

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