Similar cards available here:
From Etsy: BUY NOW: Moire Kinetic Cards
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Antique Moiré Easter Card: a kaleidoscopic egg produced by moiré interference effects. Explore constructive and deconstructive interference patterns with this vintage holiday card.
Here is the NdFeB neodymium magnet used in this video:
From Amazon: BUY NOW: Neodymium Disk Magnet
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Please use extreme caution when handeling strong magnets like this one. Small nails, paperclips, staples and other houlshold object made with iron will interact interestingly with the magnetic field.
Ferromagnetic Interaction: iron rich nails temporarily become dipole magnets in the presence of an intense magnetic field from a large neodymium super magnet. Here the neodymium disk magnet is set with its north pole pointing up, so the point of each nail becomes a south pole (repelling each other) and the head of each a north pole. Imbued with these temporary induced fields, the nails will try to align themselves with the neodymium dipole’s field like compass needles, and the nails will interact with each other in interesting ways.
For the price of a vinyl LP you can own the amazing artwork of Tristan Duke. This album by Jack White is damn good as well (I also got the digital download with the vinyl purchase).
From Amazon: BUY NOW Jack White Lazaretto (Vinyl)
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Specular Hologram on Vinyl: the album Lazaretto by Jack White features this amazing "scratch hologram" of a twirling angel (shown here accompanied by the opening bars from the title track of the album). The hologram was hand etched on the metal master by artist Tristan Duke of Infinity Light Science. The etched grooves reflect a point source of light as sharp glints and the groves are arranged so that each eye sees a slightly different pattern such that, via stereopsis, the shiny points appear to float above or below the surface. This album has a lot of other interesting features including dual grooves that allows for two different intros to one track (depending on where the needled is dropped) and side A plays from the inside out- fun!
Get this inexpensive demo here:
From Etsy: BUY NOW: Pythagorean Theorem Proof Wheel
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Liquid Demo of the Pythagorean Theorem: a proof, in physical form, of one of the most famous equations concerning the sides of any right triangle. The area of a square with side c of the hypotenuse is indeed equal to the sum of the areas of the squares of side a and b. An excellent print and design by Kiegan Brewer of Printed Teacher Crafts.
Created by Tom Lawton to meticulous standards, learn more here:
From beuplifted.co.uk: Wonder Kinetic
Wonder: enigmatic and transcendent, a ribbon of metallic luster rotates producing a kinetic animation that delights and challenges the senses. Connecting rotational and translational motion with Lissajous type forms, the Wonder kinetic sculpture uses a rotating base to produce aesthetic fluid motions that seem incongruous. Another stunning creation by artist and inventor Tom Lawton.
Get this affordable sculpture here:
From Mr.Sci Science Factory: BUY NOW: KInetic Magnetic Sculpture
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Magnetic Hoops Suspension Sculpture 2.0: Steel circles are suspended by a magnet (black disk) and held down to the base by a thin thread. The tops of the steel hoops, being ferromagnetic, become a north pole in the presence of the south pole end of the black magnet, so they are attracted to the black magnet, but repel each other. Produced by Funtime Gifts Europe Ltd. this is a new and affordable version of a vintage sculpture made by Rathcon Inc. in 1970.
Get ruby in matrix stones and jewelry here:
From Etsy: BUY NOW: Ruby Glow Stones
and find the sodalite bright orange fluorescent syenite here:
From Etsy: BUY NOW: Orange Glow Stones
You will also want an awesome UV flashlight like this one:
From Amazon: BUY NOW: High Power UV Light
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Natural Mineral Fluorescence: Four mineral specimens that emit a surprising bright glow under long wave ultraviolet light (from left to right): a clear calcite crystal glows pink, a carved obelisk of grey syenite with grains of sodalite(bright orange), a carved piece of green fuchsite with red ruby inclusions(red glow) and veins of white calcite(bright white), and a polished slab of lapis lazuli with speckles of the mineral hauynite (yellow glow). The colorful glow comes from complex quantum mechanical behavior where high energy UV photons are absorbed and then lower energy photons are emitted- the physics of fluorescence.
Samples of the oldest know Earth rock available here:
From Etsy: BUY NOW Acasta Gneiss Specimens
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Wikipedia has the details on Acasta Gneiss and see the next video and links for more geophysics fun!
Acasta Gneiss: this polished sphere is a sample from the oldest known rock formation on Earth- rocks from this area are dated as old as 4.03 billion years old based on multiple and mutually consistent radiometric dating techniques. This gneiss is only found in the Northwest Territories of Canada and was collected by Yellowknife resident Mark Brown.
Get a set of gliding eyes here:
From Amazon: BUY NOW: Gliding Eyes
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Centripetal Eyes: glider eyeballs have weighted (low center of mass) spheres suspended within a liquid filled clear acrylic sphere, and the inside ”eyeball” maintains its eerie orientation always pointing up as the outer shell rotates— unless: the gliders are placed in circular motion which then gives them an acceleration component towards the center of the circle. Note- the faster the eyes roll around the bowl the more they are tilted towards the center. Shown in 240 fps slow motion.
Get this 3-color laser cut acrylic version here:
From Kadon Enterprises: BUY NOW: Hexiamond Puzzle
Noce woood versions available here:
From Etsy: BUY NOW: Hexiamond Puzzles
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Hexiamonds Snowflake: this symmetric puzzle is comprised of the hexiamonds- the shapes that represent the 12 ways for which six equilateral triangles can be attached side to side- where we find a hexagon and a skinny parallelogram among the dozen interesting shapes. 55 different solutions can fill this snowflake shape, but only one solution separates the colors. This tri-colored puzzle, made from laser cut acrylic, is the creation of Kate Jones of Kadon Enterprise.
Get this device here:
From Amazon: BUY NOW: Golden Snitch
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Levitating Golden Snitch: Harry Potter magic simulated by the real magic of physics. Well- the wings don’t move, but it does float above the base. Magnets are involved of course- a control system in the base, powered by AA batteries, uses adjustable electromagnets and a Hall effect magnetic field sensor to levitate the snitch, and it’s pretty stable too.
Get this vintage toy here:
From eBay: BUY NOW: Spacemen Ramp Walker
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Ramp Walker Toy: dragged to the edge but never over. Patented in 1888, this toy exhibits complex motion with very simple construction, and uses physics to stop right at the edge. Note that as these space-suited explorers approach the edge, the direction of pull becomes straight down with no horizontal component to maintain forward motion.
Get this set here:
From TheDiceLab: BUY NOW: Orbiform d4 Dice
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Orbiform Dice Set: the shape of a standard d4 is the tetrahedron whereas this new dice set are in the form of Meissner tetrahedra, which are in turn based on the Reuleaux triangle. The shape of these dice have constant diameter, no matter their orientation, and will roll like spheres between two planes- note how the acrylic plate stays parallel to the table top.
Get samples of Satin Spar here
From Etsy: BUY NOW: TV Rock: Satin Spar
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TV Rock: special crystalline form of the mineral gypsum acts as a natural fiber optic image conduit. Morocco seems to be the main source of this fibrous form, called satin spar gypsum, which exhibits pearl like luster and chatoyancy along two axes and transparency along the direction of the fibers. Not to be confused with ulexite, a mineral of boron with similar TV rock properties.
Get samples of Satin Spar here
From Etsy: BUY NOW: TV Rock: Satin Spar
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TV Rock: special crystalline form of the mineral gypsum acts as a natural fiber optic image conduit. A laser reveals a couple of interesting properties of these crystals: When directed along the grain of the fibers the laser beam emerges a circle of light (445nm blue used here). In addition, these crystals form with internal cracks, and reflection of laser light off these boundaries reveals the sectioning structure as each domain lights up. Morocco seems to be the main source of this fibrous form, called satin spar gypsum, which exhibits pearl like luster and chatoyancy along two axes and transparency along the direction of the fibers. Not to be confused with ulexite, a mineral of boron with similar TV rock properties.
These vintage postcards are sometimes found here:
From Etsy: Search NOW: 2001 3D postcard
From eBay: Search NOW: 2001 3D postcard
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Lenticular Space Station V: an original 3D postcard from the year 1968 produced to promote the release of 2001: A Space Odyssey. The image features an orbiting transfer station that spins to produce a sense of gravity with spaceplanes seen en route. 3D cards such as these are comprised of an array of thin cylindrical lenses placed over interlaced multiple images so that each eye sees a different view creating the perception of depth. A vintage futuristic 3D card for perhaps the most futuristic movie of all time!
Similar models often available here:
From Etsy: BUY NOW: Cosmic Window
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Cosmic Window: mesmerizing kinetic art from 1996 featuring a rotating acrylic disk patterned such that illusions of radial motion are produced via moiré interference effects. Explore the math of constructive and deconstructive interference patterns with this vintage device manufactured by Rabbit Tanaka.
Get this very similar demonstation here:
From Amazon: BUY NOW: Electric Generator
I upgraded this version with a larger LED light bulb:
From Amazon: BUY NOW: 3V LED lightbulbs and E26 Socket
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Generator Teaching Demo: The electrical energy that comes to your home is produced by some device somewhere moving a coil of wire next to a magnet to produce an electric current (known as Faraday’s law of induction). This tabletop demonstration uses a crank and belt drive to spin the coil between the north and south poles. The ends of the coil are attached to the two smooth metal pieces on the shaft (the commutator) that makes contact with the output wires and connects to the lightbulb. Maximum current is produced when the axis of the coil is at a right angle to the magnetic field- so the current comes in a series of pulses and the bulb flashes on and off. Physics of energy transfer: mechanical kinetic energy→ electrical energy→ light energy.