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How Does the Table Know? Thinking deeply about seemingly simple observations sometimes rev...

How Does the Table Know? Thinking deeply about seemingly simple observations sometimes reveals underlying truths that we might otherwise miss. For example, think about holding a golf ball in one hand and a bowling ball in the other. To keep them motionless you must actively adjust the tension in your arm muscles so that each arm exerts a different upward force that exactly balances the weight of the ball. Now, think about what happens when you set the balls on a table. Somehow, the table also exerts exactly the right amount of upward force to keep the balls motionless, even though their weights are very different. How does a table “know” to make the same type of adjustment that you make when you hold the balls motionless in your hands? (Hint: Think about the origin of the force pushing upward on the objects.)

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