Step 1: Grab the slinky that‘s serving as your office paperweight or cross your fingers that the one in your kid’s toy box isn’t too mangled, because you’ll want to try this.

Step 2: Hold the slinky at one end so that it’s stretched toward the ground at full length, but not touching the ground.

Step 3: Now drop it. Did you see the bottom end of the slinky remain suspended in the air until the top portion you just let go of reached it and then fell all together?

Well, if you weren’t able to recreate this amazing physics phenomenon yourself, enjoy this video presented by Physicist Rod Cross of the University of Sydney:

As Cross explains, gravity is pulling the bottom end down and tension from the top of the slinky is still pulling it up. The bottom end therefore remains suspended in the air until the top end reaches the bottom releasing the tension and causing the spiraled toy to fall.

h/t Gizmodo