Table of contents:
2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44
It is impossible to imagine New Year's holidays without garlands, but it is not so easy to untangle them. There is a scientific explanation for why garlands are always tied in knots.
First, the cord that holds the bulbs is prone to tangling, just like a headphone cord or a landline phone cord.
A few years ago, scientists at the University of California, San Diego decided to test how easily Spontaneous knotting of an agitated string is. … They put pieces of wires of different lengths into a box and then mechanically rotated it to mix the wires. They repeated this experiment over 3,400 times.
It turned out that the first nodes appear in just a few seconds. Scientists also noticed that the longer the wire is, the higher the likelihood of nodes appearing on it.
No less important is the material from which the wire is made: on softer wires, knots are tied more often. In addition, the diameter is affected. A wire with a larger diameter is less flexible, so there will be fewer knots on it, even if it is long.
In short, the ratio of the length of the cord to its diameter plays a decisive role.
This is why garden hoses get tangled - although they are quite stiff, they are considerably longer than their diameter.
But that's not all. Since there is a wire inside the string of the garland, it takes on something like "natural curvature" from it. The wire is usually stored coiled on cylindrical spools, and then it tends to return to this position. And Christmas tree garlands are even more difficult to straighten, because they usually contain two wires intertwined with each other.
And secondly, the bulbs themselves interfere. They cling to each other and do not allow the knots to be untied.
How to get rid of this problem
The simplest solution is to gently fold the garlands as you take them off the tree and get ready to put them away before next year. Wrap them tightly around something, or secure them in several places with cable ties to keep the cord from twisting.
If you have an already tangled garland in front of you, find the free end and start unraveling from it. It takes a long time, but in the end you can handle it anyway.
Or ditch the usual lights altogether and buy light cords. They have multi-colored LEDs inserted into a transparent tube. Of course, they can also be tied in a knot, but at least they are easier to untangle.
Recommended:
Scientists have named a serious reason for drinking coffee every day
Scientists from the American National Cancer Institute have unequivocally proved that drinking coffee - even the lowest quality - is better than not drinking. Spoiler alert: coffee prolongs life
Scientists have proven that the brain can grow new neurons throughout its life
The new neurons will protect against depression, PTSD, and even Alzheimer's. It remains only to learn how to start the process of their formation
Scientists have figured out why it is good to be a pessimist
Is it worth worrying? Scientists say it's worth it. Productive pessimism can be more beneficial than positive attitudes and belief in the best
6 myths about genes that scientists have long refuted
Not all mutations are harmful, and pig and human DNA are not alike: collected misconceptions about why genes do not determine everything in the body
"They should have at least" called "": why we have not yet met with aliens
An excerpt from the book "Death from Heaven" by astronomer Philip Plate about why the aliens not only did not come to us, but also did not try to contact