A drop jumps to weightlessness: a lecture demo

The paper discusses the lecture demonstration of the phenomenon in which a drop lying on a solid unwettable substrate jumps when making the transition to weightlessness. An elementary theory of the phenomenon is given. A jump speed estimate is obtained for small and large drops. The natural vibrational frequency of a flying drop is determined. A full-scale model of Einstein's elevator is described. Experimental and theoretical results are found to agree satisfactorily.