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| | Physics News Update, Number 374 |
 | | In the experiment, researchers dropped thin strips of metal, plastic, and brass into a thin fluid-filled tank, which forced the strips to move in a two-dimensional plane. |
 | | What determined whether the falling strips predominantly oscillated from side to side (flutter) or rotated end over end (tumble) was the Froude number, the ratio of the time it takes for the strip to fall its own length to the time it takes for the strip to move from side to side. |
 | | Longer or lighter strips, which have a low Froude number (like an 8.5 x 11" page) flutter while smaller or heavier strips (e.g., a business card) tend to tumble. |
| www.aip.org /enews/physnews/1998/physnews.374.htm (559 words) |
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