At the Mathematica exhibit at the Henry Ford, there’s a thing where ball bearings go around and around like planets around their sun, except their orbits get smaller with each rotation. As they get closer to the middle, they speed up, and it causes my brain to itch as they get into their final descent without falling in. And then… they fall in, just like that.
There are similar displays in zoos and such, but they take coins as a way to make a little extra money for the location, and even though I could reach in and grab a quarter as it rotates its way down to the middle, I don’t feel like it’s right or proper.
But my brain is not like that. The final collapse is not inevitable.
Anyway, here’s an article. Paste these things together as you will.