Beakman’s World - Season 1 Episode 7

Opening with a viewer's question about why electrical plugs have two prongs, Beakman begins by explaining how the flow of electricity is the movement of energy in a closed circuit. With the help of his East Bay Electrons basketball team, Beakman demonstrates how electrons in motion create electrical energy. Dissecting an electric plug, he shows how the prongs provide the pair of connections required for electricity to flow through an appliance and provide it with the energy it needs to operate. This week's "Beak-Mania" inquiries includes one about the number of beekeepers in the United States (212,000), the world record for walking on your hands (871 miles) and whether or not sharks really kill people (yes, but not often). For the "Beakman Challenge," Lester is asked to balance a dozen nails simultaneously, each one on the head of another. After his friend fails to come up with a solution, Beakman interlocks the heads of the nails and, using a stationary one as a brace, balances them all at the same time. Asked about how light bulbs work, Beakman calls on inventor Thomas Alva Edison to discuss how his improvements on the original light bulb made it practical for widespread use. Then, after Lester and Josie tell the late inventor that many of the new ideas he is working on (Thighmaster, Ginsu Knives and the Clapper) have already been invented, Beakman uses ping pong balls to demonstrate how electrical resistance produces the heat necessary for light bulbs and other electrical devices.