Explain from a physics point of view how the magician\'s tablecloth trick works,

Question

Explain from a physics point of view how the magician's tablecloth trick works, where he/she pulls the tablecloth out from under a dinner setting, leaving all the dishes and silverware virtually undisturbed. Be as detailed as possible in your explanation. Be sure to explain why the tablecloth has to be pulled out rapidly. Also, why do they always tell you that the dishes and silverware you use should be, within reason, somewhat heavy rather than too light? Figure 1 - The magician can pull the tablecloth out from under the things on top of the table wit hout disturbing them. Page 1 of 1

Explanation / Answer

The magician must pull the table top very quickly giving it a large initial acceleration. Pulling slightly downwards across the edge of the table helps to assure that there is no upward component to the acceleration and that the acceleration is reasonably uniform across the width of the table cloth.As table cloth accelerates it exerts frictional force upon the tableware. If we pulled slowly this frictional force would pull the things and glasses along with the tablecloth.

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