Slow Motion Timer
Get this device here:
From Amazon: BUY NOW: Paradox Silver Slow Motion Timer
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Slow Motion Timer: instead of sand and air, dense oil and metal beads trade places in this unique timer. The small metal spheres slowly descend slightly tethered to each other due to the effects of viscosity as the fluid flows. This liquid timer is carefully constructed so there are no air bubbles to interrupt the delicate motion, and includes molded lens shaped windows on each side. Although more a piece of kinetic art, this particular timer consistently takes 4 minutes and 24 seconds to complete (partly shown here sped up x10).
Fidget Star
Get this fun piece in metallic PLA here:
From Etsy: BUY NOW: Fidget Star
Or print it yourself:
From Thingverse: Fidget Star .stl file
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Fidget Star: 12 nested and captured 8-point stars create this wonderfully satisfying kinetic art manipulation toy. Each star is trapped within the next through ingenious design and 3D printing. A creation of maker and artist Chuck Hilliard @chuuckaduuck.
Fluid Cell Kaleidoscope
Vintage Kaleidsocpes by this artist can be found here:
From Etsy: BUY NOW: Kaleidoscopes by Reynolds
See more: Amazing Kaleidoscopes
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Fluid Cell Kaleidoscope: flowing immiscible fluids provide a psychedelic vibe in this vintage kaleidoscope from the 1970s by artist Peach Reynolds. A simple equilateral triangle mirror system creates the hexagonal lattice structure in this latest addition to my kaleidoscope collection. Invented by the famous Scottish physicist Sir David Brewster (1781-1868), the kaleidoscope is an ultimate physics toy and entire field of artistic endeavor.
Dodecahedron Infinity Mirror
This lamp is interesting, but the fabrication is low quality. Still, it is fun to see the internal reflections and it would make for a great party light. Definitely read the reviews before purchasing! ($30-$45 USD)
From Amazon: Dodecahedron Infinty Lamp
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Dodecahedron Infinity Lamp: lit from within by strips of LEDs the 12 plastic mirrored faces create a universe of interesting internal reflections. While the manufacturing quality of this item is pretty low, when the lights are off it looks pretty amazing.
Vortex by Lava Lamp
A DIY kit by the makers of Lava Lamp, home experimentation set with booklet of ideas to try:
From Amazon: BUY NOW: Lava Lamp LED Vortex kit
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Vortex Lamp: a simple whirlpool powered by a magnetic stirrer like those in a chemistry lab and lit by LEDs. A DIY kit by Lava Lamp brand- which comes with glitter and beads, but I found the water vortex alone was mesmerizing to watch. Note the intricately changing structure of the vortex in the slow motion close up.
Color Gradient Magnetic Viewing Film
Get this new technology here:
From Amazon: BUY NOW: Color Magnetic Viewing Film
Note: this site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated
Color Gradient Magnetic Film: making the invisible visible and revealing the hidden beauty of the physics in our everyday world. Microscopic cavities in this thin film are filled with suspended magnetic nanoparticles that interact with magnetic fields producing different colors from orange (low field strength) to dark blue (high field strength). Here three “fridge magnets” and a coded neodymium magnet show surprising field complexity when placed under this film.
Wobbler Roller
Get this very nice laser cut version here:
From Etsy: BUY NOW: Desk Wobbler
Note: this site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated
Check out my posts on similar geometric objects: developable rollers
Wobbler Roller: a very simple toy today- two half circle perimeters affixed at right angles which surprisingly can then roll in a straight line with a peculiar wobble motion. When rolling, a wobbler always touches the table top at two points which could be connected by a straight line, and forms the frame of the geometric shape called a sphericon (featured in a previous post).
Marble Run 3D Print
A high quality 3D print (with steel marbles) available here:
From Etsy: BUY NOW: Marble Run Fun
Note: this site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated
Or print it yourself: From Thingiverse: Cyclone Marble Run
Marble Run 3D Print: a design that looks like it came off the page of a Dr. Seuss book has rolling marbles doing tricks down 3 tracks as potential energy of gravity is converted to kinetic energy. In this mini-marble run a fingertip (or end of a pen) powers an auger conveyor (Archimedes' Screw) to bring the marbles back to the top. A wonderful and whimsical designed by Øyvind Kaurstad.
Equitorial Bulge Demostration
Wikipedia has the details about the actual shape of the Earth: oblate spheroid planets
Here is an inexpensive toy that shows similar physics: Rainbow Twirler
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Equatorial Bulge Demo: two springy circular rings flatten along their axis of rotation in proportion to the rate of spin in this classic teaching demonstration. This device demonstrates that centripetal accelerations applied to an elastic sphere will cause it to bulge at the equator- becoming an oblate spheroid. Isaac Newton predicted that given the Earth’s rotation, the radius to the equator would be larger than the radius to the North Pole by 1 part in 230. He was correct! (although overestimated slightly- swipe for description) Modern measurements indicate 1 part in 294.7. Question: At what location on Earth could you stand on land and be furtherest from its center? Mt Everest is a good guess, but the correct answer is the top of Mt Chimborazo in Ecuador. (swipe twice for details) Although Everest is higher above sea level, the equatorial bulge puts the top of Chimborazo a 2.2 km further into space from the center of the Earth.
Dymaxion Map
Get one there:
From Art of Play: BUY NOW: Dymaxion Folding Globe
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Dymaxion Map: today some math fun with this unique mapping of the Earth where the globe is projected onto an icosahedron and then unfolded onto two dimensions. Invented by the famous architect R. Buckminster Fuller, the Dymaxion projection map is designed such that it does not have a “right way up” and showing the continents as “one island Earth”. This mapping also produces less distortion of relative areas and shapes- note here that Greenland looks, correctly, much smaller than Africa- unlike what is seen on many world maps where they look the same size. This version, designed by Brendan Ravenhill, uses flat magnets to allow a very satisfying transformation between the flat 2D net and the 3D icosahedron “globe”.
Soma and Rhoma Puzzles
The Rhoma Cube is a vintage item and can sometimes be found on Etsy
Soma Cubes are available in wide viariety:
From Amazon: BUY NOW: Soma Cube
From Etsy: BUY NOW: Rhoma Puzzle
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SOMA and RHOMA Puzzles: Replace every cube in the Soma puzzle with a rhombohedron to create the Rhoma puzzle- where the seven slanted pieces now make a larger rhombohedron. Here I’ve painted the corresponding Soma and Rhoma pieces to match on these sister puzzles that share identical edge lengths. While there are 240 ways to make the larger cube from the 7 Soma pieces, there is only one solution for the 7 Rhoma pieces. The original Soma Cube is a math toy has an interesting connection to physics- invented by Danish scientist and artist Piet Hein who claimed that this puzzle idea came to him as he was listening to a lecture on Quantum Mechanics by Werner Heisenberg in 1933. The seven pieces are all the ways 3 or 4 cubes can be joined, such that each piece has at least one inside corner.
Elastic Equilibrium Puzzle
Get this puzzle here:
From Amazon: BUY NOW: Atomic Cherry Puzzle
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Elastic Equilibrium Puzzle: six spheres held together by three plastic springs. When assembled each sphere exerts the same force on its four neighboring spheres, producing this equilibrium state only if all six spheres are used to balance all the forces. A fun configuration to analyze in a 1st year physics course- the Atomic Cherry by Brainwright puzzles.
Electromagnetic Levitation Module
Get a similar inexpensive simple module here:
From EngineDIY: BUY NOW: Mag Lev Kit
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Electromagnetic Levitation Module: this bare bones engineered control system uses an adjustable electromagnet (the copper coil) and a Hall effect magnetic field sensor (embedded in the center of the the coil) to levitate a neodymium magnet and keep it from falling. A feedback loop informed by the Hall effect sensors allows fine tuning of the magnetic field to exactly balance the pull of gravity, all powered by a 12 power supply. Once trapped the magnet can also rotate, creating a nice way to display a small piece of kinetic illusion art hanging from a chain. A no frills design that shows the fairly simple circuit and components of such a levitation feedback system.
Dual Threaded Bolt
Get this device here (in your choice of color):
From Etsy: BUY NOW: Dual Threaded Bolt Print
Note: this site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated
Dual Threaded Bolt: this 3D printed fidget toy illustrates an interesting design that may have important engineering applications in preventing loosening of fasteners. Here one nut threads on clockwise as normal- the other threads on counterclockwise on the same bolt.
Wine-Themed Kaleidoscope
precision aligned high quality front surface mirrors:
From Etsy: BUY NOW Precision Teleidoscopes
Fine art kaleidoscopes avaibable here:
From Etsy: BUY NOW: Fine Art Kaleidoscopes
Note: this site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated
Wine-Themed Kaleidoscope: precision construction using surface coated mirrors set at an angle of exactly 72 degrees creates the beautiful symmetry of a five point mandala in this artisan kaleidoscope. The viewing cell is filled with shiny and colorful wine themed trinkets- grapes, vines, and other items found in and around a winery. Swipe to see more of the intricacies of the patterns produced by turning the viewing cell. Invented by the famous Scottish physicist Sir David Brewster (1781-1868), the kaleidoscope is an ultimate physics toy and entire field of artistic endeavor.