Brain Teasers
Turntables
Science
Science brain teasers require understanding of the physical or biological world and the laws that govern it.Science
Aliens place you on the bottom center of a large cylindrical aquarium. Your hands and legs are tied together. The cylinder sits on a turntable, which is now turned off. Your captors are about to release you so that you will float to the surface to gasp for air as soon as possible. The captors ask you, "Do we turn the turntable on or leave it off before we release you?"
Answer
Keep the turntable off. You will take as much as ten times longer to make your ascent if the turntable is rotating at 33 and a third rpm. Pressure differences and friction will delay your rise in a fluid in circular motion.Hide Answer Show Answer
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