Magnetic Suspsension Sculpture
This DIY magneits sculpture can be assemebled with these parts. Bring a magnet into a craft shop to find some necklace chain that is non-magnetic.
From Amazon/eBay: BUY NOW: Quilting Hoop, Neodyumium Sphere Magnets
Magnetic Flux Gyroscope art and other amazing science inspired jewelry available here:
From Foxtail Jewelry: BUY NOW: Kinetic Magnetic Pendants
From Foxtail Jewelry: BUY NOW: Tabletop Magnetic Kinetic Art
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Magnetic Suspension Sculpture: two neodymium magnets on chains suspended by their mutual magnetic attraction in this prototype kinetic sculpture (swipe to see scaled fine jewelry version by foxtailjewelry). These powerful magnets hold the chains taut with about a 2cm gap. Made from a quilting hoop where the magnets connect under their own force to steel nails soldered on to non-magnetic chain.
Ambiguous Object Illusion Set
This wonderful and afffordabe set includes four illusion objects and a mirror:
From curiositybox.com: BUY NOW: Inq's Ambiguous Illusion Kit (sold out)
Similar objects available here- from Etsy: BUY NOW: Ambiguous Objects
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Ambiguous Object Illusion Set: This kit comes with four objects (three shown here) invented by mathematician Kokichi Sugihara of Meiji University in Japan. Polygons appear as circles in a mirror and vice versa, and the famous “stubborn arrow” that will only point to the right (or, in a mirror, to the left). I like how the base is also an ambiguous pentagon/circle, which like all these objects, is a result of a clever combination of reflection, perspective, and viewing angle. Thanks to the Vsauce team for producing this kit!
The Holoscope : Icosahedron
Order a holoscope from the artist's gallery here:
The artwork of Gary Allison: BUY NOW Holoscopeworld.com
Look through other holoscopes in my collection here: Holoscope Kaleidoscopes
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The Holoscope Icosahedron: the intricate beauty of multiple internal reflections from 20 triangular mirrors in the shape of this famous platonic solid. The interior is viewed from one corner and illuminated by light entering from glass spheres placed at all of the other 11 vertices. A type of kaleidoscope based on mirrored polyhedra by artist Gary Allison, (swipe to see the dodecahedron and cube) and future posts will include tetrahedron and octahedron holoscope forms as I complete my Platonic solids set. Each holoscope has stained glass on the exterior and front surface mirrors on the inside which create the amazing and seemingly impossible spaces within.
Micro Mirror Interactive Art Memo Pad
My freind Tim Rowett over at Grand Illusions Ltd. has this item in stock:
From Grand Illusions Ltd: BUY NOW: Love/Hate Micro Mirror Art
Also availble in South Korea: BUY NOW: Love/Hate Micro Mirror Art
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Micro Mirror Interactive Art: mirrors as pixels- the "love/hate" memo pad by Luycho. The displayed message is the product of 1280 tiny square mirrors (dimensions 2.0 x 2.5 mm), where each mirror is angled to reflect a specific part of the memo pad below. Alter the distribution of colors on the pad and the message on pixel array can change between the two options.
Kalliroscope with Heating Element Stand
Click this link for the best Kalliroscope currently in production and available.
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Kalliroscope with Heating Element Stand: visualizing the invisible- convection currents. This wonderful vintage device was invented and produced by artist Paul Matisse in the 1970s, where suspended microscopic flat crystals of guanine reflect light and allow visualization of the fluid's motion. This rheoscopic fluid is special in that the guanine crystals are the same density as the tetrachloroethylene liquid so the crystals never settle to the bottom making the fluid reactive to showing the slightest movement. Here the stand option (that was sold separately) has a resistive element in contact with the back of the kalliroscope which generates heat at about body temperature to establish these convection currents.
Tensegrity for the Desk
Get similar tensegrity sculptures here:
From Etsy: BUY NOW: Tensegrity Sculpture
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Tensegrity for the Desk: an elegant, and stackable, desk toy version of this popular tensegrity configuration by maker/designer Micah Murdoch. Constructed from poplar wood, the design assembles easily with clever ball and socket connectors at the ends of the nylon support lines (3 long, 1 short). Stacking them seems to only increase the illusion of floating with the subtle way these structures defy gravity. Another fun configuration of tensegrity concept, invented by Kenneth Snelson and made famous by the architect Buckminster Fuller in 1949.
Trinitite Glass
Samples of trinitite are still available:
From Amazon: BUY NOW: Trinitite Sample
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Trinitite Glass: more nuclear physics history- a vintage Civil Defense Geiger counter detects a few ionizing tracks per minute at close range (but hardly any a few centimeters away- so not dangerous if handled appropriately). This green glass was produced by the heat of the very first atomic explosion, on July 16, 1945, and the gamma ray radioactivity picked up by the Geiger counter is mostly from Americium 241, Cesium 137, and Europium 152- three of the longer lived radioactive fission products from plutonium used in the “Gadget” device. The 25 kiloton explosion melted a centimeter thick layer of the desert sand out to a radius of a kilometer, and this glass contains isotopes that reflect the particular chain reaction unleashed that day
Fulgurite
It's now possible to obtain a fulgurite sample at a resonable price. Many sellers on Etsy offer a wide selection of specimens:
From Etsy: BUY NOW: Fulgurite Frozen Lightning
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Fulgurite: glass formation from when lightning strikes sand. One of only four ways to produce natural glass- volcanos, earthquakes (pseudotachylite from fault zones), meteor impacts (tektites and impactites), and lightning strikes (fulgurites). This fulgurite tube was collected from the Egyptian Saharan desert.
3-Shuttle Trammel of Archimedes
This device came in my Curiosity Box subscrition. A great way to start collecting your own physics toys (and other brain food):
From the Vsauce team: BUY NOW: The Curiosity Box (New box will ship soon- get a great deal now)
Get similar (two shuttle) devices here:
From Etsy: BUY NOW
Trammel of Archimedes
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3-Shuttle Trammel of Archimedes: as the shuttles take turns completing their straight line journeys, the end of the crank arm traces an ellipse. This precision 3-shuttle version by the VSauce team came in my @thecuriositybox - made with high quality molded plastic parts that produce very smooth movement- a wonderful addition to my collection! Sometimes sold as a “do nothing machine” or “nothing grinder”, far from doing nothing this simple and crucially important mechanism demonstrates how rotational motion can be converted into translational oscillatory motion- such as how a piston can drive an engine’s crankshaft.
Satisfying Hexagons
Get this 3D print here (your choice of colors):
From Etsy: BUY NOW: Satifying Hexagons
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Satisfying Hexagons: this delightful kinetic art manipulation toy features 19 nested hexagons within a hexagonal frame. Embedded magnets allows one to move the central hexagon from behind creating interesting visual effects. A 3D print created by @i.am.the.lazy.engineer- indeed oddly satisfying!
Glow Trace Chaotic Pendulum Kit
This kit (usually part of a subscription) often available here:
Get amazing quatilty science kits delievered to your home- this glow pendulum is part of the Tinker Crate subscription.
From KiwiCo: LEARN MORE: Tinker Crate Subscription
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Glow Trace Chaotic Pendulum: this fun and amazing DIY kit features a UV diode to trace the intricate path of this double pendulum system on to a phosphorescent screen, revealing the physics of chaotic motion. It’s amazing that such complex motion can arise from a simple assembly of two pendulums, one attached to the end of the other. Chaotic motion, such as that observed here, is characterized by extreme sensitivity to initial starting conditions, tiny differences in how the system is released leads to dramatically different outcomes each time.
Cherry Blossom Thermochromic Sake Cups
Similar cups available here- some change with hot water, some with cold:
From Amazon: BUY NOW: Cherry Blossom Color Change Cup
Check out these other thermochomic physics toys
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Cherry Blossom Sake Cups: ice cold liquid produces blue blossoms on the initially bare branch, but pour in a hot beverage and the branch fills with pink flowers! The designs at the bottom of these ceramic color-changing cups employ leuco dyes, thermochromic chemicals that have reversible forms, one colorless.
Tensegrity Table
Get this 3D printed/hand painted tensegrity art here:
From Etsy: BUY NOW: LUNA Tensegrity Display Table
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Tensegrity Table: A wonderful three string version of the suspension equilibrium table. The LUNA tensegrity stand is 3D printed and then painted by hand, with designer Anthony Yap incorporating a celestial moon phase motif to nice effect, and clear nylon fishing line for an almost invisible means of support. Another configuration related to the concept of tensegrity invented by Kenneth Snelson and made famous by the architect Buckminster Fuller in 1949.
Mirror Anamorphic Lenticular Cup & Saucer
Now available here:
From Amazon: BUY NOW: Anamorphic Wavy Cups & Saucers
See all the amazing illusions and art avaialble from Luycho: Luycho | A New world on Mirrors
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Mirror Anamorphic Lenticular Cup & Saucer: a toucan sits in a nest of flowers, revealed when the cylindrical mirrored cup is put in place. This beautiful design by Luycho uses both mirror anamorphic reflection and an accordion type lenticular dual image (turning the plate 180 degrees trades images). Art meets math and physics!
Vsauce Mirror Anamorphosis
Currently this mirror and image set comes to you (in the Summer 2020 box) with any subscription:
From the Vsauce team: BUY NOW: The Curiosity Box
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The Curiosity Box is an excellent way to start your own physics toy collection- reccomended highly!
For those who want to see the math behind this art, here is an initial paper on the topic published in 2000 in the American Journal of Physics: Anamorphic Images by Hunt et al.
Vsauce Mirror Anamorphosis: the warped printed image is restored only with a mirror in the form of cylinder- when placed carefully in the center of the image, Kevin, Michael, and Jake appear in their true form. This mirror (along with a set of images and DIY templates) came to me last week in the most recent @thecuriositybox- a fantastic way to start your own physics toy collection. The math describing this anamorphic mapping is quite complex and is nicely detailed in a physics journal article from 2000.
Scutoids
This set of 3D printed scutoids available here:
From Etsy: BUY NOW: Scutoid container set
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Scutoids: a recently recognized form of geometric solids discovered in 2018. Scutoids have a different polygon on each end, and when packed together maximize stability and minimize energy when forming a boundary layer- such as the membranes around organs in living tissue. These 5-6 scutoids have pentagons on one end and hexagons on the other. Discovered by a collaboration of biologists and mathematicians in 2018, this set is sold by Recep Mutlu of 3DPrintBase.
Marangoni Propulsion Boat
The vintage boat featured was made in the 1960s and is hard to find.
Wikipedia has the details on the Marangoni Effect
The design of this toy boat is desceibed in this 1955 Patent
See more physics toys involving fluid flow
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Marangoni Propulsion Boat: this vintage toy boat is propelled by a difference in surface tension between water and isopropyl alcohol (contents of brown bottle). This very light weight aluminum boat has a basin where alcohol is added to a cotton string- the string feeds through a hole to a notch in the rear of the boat and wicking action draws the alcohol down to the water surface. Fluids will flow away from regions of lower surface tension (Marangoni Effect) and the isopropyl alcohol mixes with the water at the stern of the boat creating a gradient of surface tension which pushes the boat forward until the alcohol is drained from the boat. I was lucky to find this vintage boat, made in London with a patent date of 1955!
Chorus Line Kaleidoscope
This type of kaleidoscope is hard to find and mostly made by artists. Here are two examples currently avaliable:
From Etsy: BUY NOW: Chorus Line Kaleidoscope
From KaleidoscopeShop.com: BUY NOW: Chorus Line Kaleidoscope
Click here for affordable, precision made scopes with angled mirrors: Kaleidoscope Symmetries Explored
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Chorus Line Kaleidoscope: an interesting and uncommon kaleidoscope design where two mirrors are placed with surfaces parallel to each other- resulting in a side by side strip of alternating images. Here the camera is attached to the view port and the entire tube is rotated to produce the changing patterns. The kaleidoscope was invented by the famous Scottish physicist Sir David Brewster (1781-1868), and has become an entire field of artistic endeavor.