Newton’s Cradle

Soon to arrive in my office is a gift my daughter gave me many years ago. Best known as “Newton’s Cradle,” it used to be a popular office item. The version most of us know was created in the late 1960s, but the concept was explored in the late 1600s by physicists. Actually, Newton had nothing to do with the model we see today, but it exemplifies several laws of physics that he explained. 

The main one is the law of conservation which says that energy is always present, but not always active. Potential energy is the energy that objects have stored and kinetic energy is what happens when those objects are in motion (thus, we have a Kinesiology Department). Newton’s Cradle shows potential energy until you release one of the balls and it strikes another, thus showing kinetic energy.

Perhaps this is a popular office “toy” because it exemplifies much of how we are as people and workers. We are potential energy until set in motion, at which time we become kinetic energy, we move and have an impact. You can view us as all having potential energy that is waiting to be turned into kinetic energy. We often speak of a person having “potential” and what we mean is they have potential energy waiting to be put into motion.

However, what is really interesting about Newton’s Cradle is that when the first ball is put into motion and hits the second ball, you’ll notice that the second ball moves very little — it is the fifth ball that feels the impact. The kinetic energy goes right through the three middle balls and is released in the fifth. It is a reminder that when we create an action, we may not plan or even see the potential reaction. 

We have talked about this at times in our office. When we put in EMS that five tables are needed, we are creating a reaction we don’t even see. People from Physical Plant are put into motion by our action. We also have this impact on each other as a team. Our actions may impact people that we do not consider, but like the fifth ball, they feel the impact of what we do. This applies to both positive and negative impacts.

And sometimes, like the middle balls, we have potential energy and we simply pass along the kinetic energy we received from number one to number five, again both positive and negative. Even when we are a conduit for energy, we are still having an impact.

The best lesson to take from all of this is that our actions have the potential to impact people far beyond what we see. This is why it is even more important to make sure our actions are positive so that as our impact reaches beyond what we see we know we are providing a positive force in the world.