In your article, a spinning coin’s motion is explained by
the existence of an air cushion between coin and tabletop. If this is indeed the case, then I
would expect coins to do something quite different in a vacuum. What do they do?
Richard Chambers
Charlotte, N.C.
H. Keith Moffatt offers an explanation for the characteristically abrupt collapse of a spinning
coin.
Log in
Subscribers, enter your e-mail address for full access to the Science News archives and digital editions.