It was an endless source of fascination that sat on the desks of many executives in the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s.<\/p>\n
With its signature row of five silver balls suspended from a metal frame, it was known as Newton\u2019s Cradle or the Executive Ball Clicker.<\/span><\/p>\n When a ball was lifted at one end of the row and dropped back into place, it would cause the ball at the opposite end to swing upward while the middle balls stayed put.<\/span><\/p>\n Far from being just a passing fad, the desk toy illustrates the theories and principles behind PhD student Michelle Przedborski\u2019s physics research.<\/span><\/p>\n She explains her work in Grains, Chains and Solitary Waves, a 60-second video she created and submitted to the NSERC (Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada) Science, Action! Competition.<\/p>\n