The
energy
required to pull the ball and magnets apart is defined as the capacity
to do
work. The ball now has potential energy with respect to the magnetic
field due
to the work that we did pulling the ball off the magnets. If we release
the
metal ball, it accelerates toward the magnets pulled by the magnetic
force.
Then the potential energy gets converted to kinetic energy.
Newton’s
Cradle is also essential to making this gun
work.Newton’s law says action equals
reaction.
That’s the easiest way to explain what happens. When we nudge the
single ball
on one side toward the magnets, it hits the magnets and releases the
energy
through the line of the system to the last ball on the other end. The
transfer
of the kinetic energy causes the ball on the other edge to shoot out.
Because it
has less magnetic force pulling on it compared to the other two or
three metal balls
that are closer to the magnets, as you can see in Figure.
