luckyp

This question came up among a few friends yesterday, which was the Summer Solstice:

Is it true that you can stand an egg on end during the Spring Equinox? Here's what I came up with:

"The answer is YES. However, you can stand an egg on end, with a large amount of patience, on any day of the year. This myth seems to pop up every year around the equinox, with the regularity of the grass greening up in the spring. The thought that an egg can only stand on end on the spring equinox due to gravitational forces of the sun being aligned with the earth sound like science, but it isn't. According to Chinese tradition, an egg can be made to stand on end at the precise moment winter ends and spring begins. But, the Chinese calender had this transition occurring at a variable time each year, determined partly by the Chinese lunar month, usually in early February. More recently, this myth became fixed to the time of the spring equinox.

"The underlying assumption relating to standing eggs on end is that there must exist some special gravitational balance. There are many forces acting on an egg when you try to stand it on end on a flat surface. Some people think that the gravitational pull of the Sun becomes balanced with those of the Earth to allow for this phenomenon to occur. However, the moon exerts a much stronger gravitational effect on the Earth than the Sun, dominating the ebb and flow of the ocean tides of the world. The moon's effects are different at each of the equinoxes however. The most dominant force of gravity on a standing egg is the one between the Earth and the egg itself. This is determined by the weight of the egg and the force pulling the egg to the counter top. To assume that some celestial balance occurs only on the spring equinox (but not on the fall equinox!), is to fall prey to bad science.

"If you want to prove this to yourself, take a fresh, uncooked, egg and hold it with the larger end resting on a table or counter top. Wait for the fluid content of the egg to settle, then carefully test the balance. Be patient as you find the point where you can ever so gently let it go to remain standing on end. If you want the experiment to be complete, do it at various times of the year."

from noaa science info

But this is the best part:
"Finally, next time you hear claims that sound miraculous, look for ways of testing before accepting these claims blindly."

Doh!

Tips:
--Doing this while imbibing alcohol makes it more difficult, but more fun.
--Sprinkling salt on the counter first, then balancing the egg, then gently blowing away the extra salt grains makes this much easier. Of course it's also cheating.


--l*P