A physics teacher had a bowling ball suspended from a very long rope attached to the high ceiling of a large lecture hall. To illustrate his faith in conservation of energy, he would back up to one side of the stage, pull the ball far to one side until the taut rope brought it just to the end of his nose, and then release it. The massive ball would swing in a mighty arc across the stage and then return to stop momentarily just in front of the nose of the stationary, unflinching teacher. However, one day after the demonstration he looked up just in time to see a student at the other side of the stage push the ball away from his nose as he tried to duplicate the demonstration. Tell the rest of the story, and explain the reason for the potentially tragic outcome.

A physics teacher had a bowling ball suspended from a very long rope attached to the high ceiling of a large lecture hall. To illustrate his faith in conservation of energy, he would back up to one side of the stage, pull the ball far to one side until the taut rope brought it just to the end of his nose, and then release it. The massive ball would swing in a mighty arc across the stage and then return to stop momentarily just in front of the nose of the stationary, unflinching teacher. However, one day after the demonstration he looked up just in time to see a student at the other side of the stage push the ball away from his nose as he tried to duplicate the demonstration. Tell the rest of the story, and explain the reason for the potentially tragic outcome.

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