Does a Falling Slinky Defy Gravity?

This is how a slinky falls in slow motion – it appears to defy gravity but the centre of mass is accelerating at 9.8m/s^2 meaning the top is accelerating faster than that and the bottom is not falling at all until the entire slinky collapses.

Read a pre-print of the physics paper here: http://arxiv.org/abs/1208.4629
Music by Kevin McLeod http://incompetech.com
Songs: Industrial Music Box, Heavy Interlude, Pale Rider, Decisions.

Slow motion photography courtesy of Questacon http://questacon.edu.au

The original goal of Veritasium was to show the beauty of science and I think the first minute and a half of this is the closest I’ve come. This is the last in a series of six videos about slinkies.