Forces

Have fun exploring the basic principles that influence our everyday lives.  

Forces are fundamental to everyday life and we experience their effects all the time, from opening doors to turning on the television. Although we can often see and feel the effects of some forces others remain inconspicuous yet have a huge influence on everything around us - gravity stops us from floating around and other forces keep our bodies together by preventing all our atoms from flying off in all directions.

This exhibition explores, among others, the concepts of gravity, magnetism, air pressure and electromagnetic force. One of the most popular exhibits is the Vacuum Chair, seen in the photograph above. A vacuum cleaner sucks air from beneath a large piston which is connected to the chair by a system of ropes and pulleys. Atmospheric air then pushes down on the piston resulting in the chair being raised.