13 October 2024
When I saw this NASA video of a spinning T-handle flipping in zero gravity it blew my mind. Does this weird flipping behavior happen only in outer space?
As it turns out you can do it at home with a single toss of a ping pong paddle, shown below in slow motion by Dr. Dan Russell …
… or various tennis rackets.
The physics behind it is called the Tennis Racket Theorem or the Intermediate Axis Theorum or the Dzhanibekov effect, named for Russian cosmonaut Vladimir Dzhanibekov who saw it in outer space in 1985.
Naturally it is quite impressive in outer space as the object stays suspended while it flips!
Learn about the science, physics and math in this 14+ minute video: The Bizarre Behavior of Rotating Bodies, including why the Russians kept Dzhanibekov’s outer space discovery secret for 10 years.