Mini Project Pile driver

Pile driver

• Fill a plastic jar with rice,


• carefully jab a knife into the rice five or ten times.


• The rice will settle a bit, then add more rice.


• Continue until no more rice can be added.


• Then quickly jab the knife into the rice and lift.

What happens? Why?

Science:
The rice gets more and more packed down by repeated stabs from the knife until the rice is so compact that it presses against the blade of the knife with enough force to overcome the pull of gravity on the jar.