The chain fountain phenomenon, also known as the self-siphoning beads, Newton's beads or the Mould effect, is a counterintuitive physical phenomenon observed with a chain placed inside a jar, when one end of the chain is pulled from the jar and is allowed to fall to the floor beneath under the influence of gravity. This process establishes a self-sustaining flow of the chain which rises over the edge and goes down to the floor or ground beneath it, as if being sucked out of the jar by an invisible siphon. For chains with small adjacent beads, the arch can ascend into the air over and above the edge of the jar with a noticeable gap.

 

Note:   The above text is excerpted from the Wikipedia article Chain fountain, which has been released under the GNU Free Documentation License.