Budget physics

Micro Racer in a Glass

These micro racer cars are sold under many brand names, and most come with a clear sphere to demonstrate this centripetal acceleration phenomenon. 

From Amazon: BUY NOW: Micro Racer + Sphere

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Micro Racer in a Glass: This tiny battery powered car overcomes gravity through centripetal acceleration and slight friction with the glass surface. With sufficient velocity the surface normal force supplies the centripetal acceleration. The car’s battery last for many minutes and is USB rechargeable.

Poly acrylamide Polymer Vanishing Act

Get some of these grow-spheres here: 
From Educational Innovations: BUY NOW Growing Spheres 
From Amazon; BUY NOW: Water Beads 

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Poly-acrylamide Polymer Vanishing Act: these spheres of hydrophilic polymer have an almost identical index of refraction as that of water- thus when submersed they become invisible. Note the elasticity of these spheres from the way they bounce, while at the same time they refract their surroundings as a spherical lens. The super absorbent spheres start as hard crystals with a radius of 2mm and grow to 11mm when immersed in water. So much physics going on here! 

Mini Balance Pterosaur

Get similar prehistoric balance beasts here: 
From Amazon: BUY NOW Balance Pterosaur

Mini Balance Pterosaur: weights in the forward wing tips create a center of mass below this pterosaur's beak- making a system that can rotate and oscillate about a stable equilibrium condition. No magnets used or needed for this physics! Usually this toy is found in the form of a bird (direct dinosaur descendent). Pterosaurs are not dinosaurs, but are the largest animals to ever fly, and powered flight has only evolved four times: bats, birds, pterosaurs, and insects- in reverse order. 


Radiometer

The Curiosity Box: an excellent way to start your own physics toy collection! 
Get (or give!) a Curiosity Box subscription here: JOIN NOW: The Curiosity Box

Radiometers of many shapes and sizes are avialable here:
From Amazon: BUY NOW: Radiometers

Radiometer: This device goes way back, invented in 1873 by the famous chemist Sir William Crookes when he was investigating partial vacuum environments. Light heats up the “vanes” which then heat up the very thin gas left in the partial vacuum within the bulb- the black side of the vane is hotter than the silver side and any gas molecule that comes into contact with it flies off at a faster speed imparting impulse to the rotor. 

Spinning Liquid Pen

Get this pen set here (dolphin, turtle, polar bear, penguin):

From Amazon: BUY NOW: Spinning Liquid Motion Pens

Note: this site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated

Spinning Liquid Pen: two immiscible fluids (three if you count the air bubble) are sorted under gravity by density with the densest on the bottom and the lightest on top. When the container is rotated, the boundary between the layers forms a parabola due to the added influence of centripetal acceleration as seen here in 240 fps slow motion. The plastic dolphin has a density between that of the two liquids so it stays at the boundary layer. A rather silly toy- but so much physics to explore here! 

TrueBalance

Get the full version (8 disks made of wood) or the mini (6 disks, blue or red plastic): 
From Amazon: BUY NOW TrueBalance Coordination Puzzle 

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TrueBalance: coordination challenge puzzle- get the six disks, connected by bearing swivels, into a vertical stack by only tilting the handle. Harder than it looks to get each disk’s center of mass above the one below at the same time into the unstable equilibrium final state. The swivels constrain the system, limiting the degrees of freedom, and allowing strange and interesting motion. Kinetic art as a toy! 


WindGyro

Get one here!

From Educational Innovations: BUY NOW: WindGyro

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WindGyro: Spin this top up with a puff of air! Small magnets keep the top secured to the base so that a stream of air will induce rotation as the air flows through the engineered turbine blades of the elegant spiral structure. 

Holographic Angel Specs

Get these this animated angel design and many more here:
From Amazon: BUY NOW: Holiday Specs Holographic Glasses 

Note: this site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated

See more designes here: Holospecs & Tree Lights

Holographic Angel Specs: put on these spectacles and fairy-like tiny angels will suddenly appear around every point source of light!- fluttering their wings as you tilt your head. The “lenses” in these glasses are actually transmission holograms but with the image located at the farthest point in the depth of field. Made by @americanpaperoptics3d with many more images available(see recent post), and some incorporate animation, like the wings on these angels.


UFO Spin Top

Get this fun and well made top here: 
From Amazon: BUY NOW: UFO Spin Top
or collect the whole set: UFO Spin Top Collection

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UFO Spin Top: this whimsical flying saucer shaped top is made of stainless steel and features a ceramic sphere to reduce friction at the contact point, allowing this heavy and well balanced top to spin for more than 5 minutes with a good snap of the fingers (start up and final seconds of wind down shown here). Spin tops- classic physics toys of antiquity! 

Drinking Dino Heat Engine

This dinosaur themed heat engine available here:

From Amazon: BUY NOW: Drinking T-rex Desk Toy

Get also: the related Drinking Bird Heat Engine 

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Drinking Dino Heat Engine: So what physics presents did you get this year? I got this Dippy Dino heat engine- where cooling by evaporation at the head leads to lower pressure in the top bulb such that the dichloromethane fluid (colored green) rises up the neck making the T-Rex top heavy and the dino tips over dipping its face in the water and letting the fluid return to the bottom bulb. The process repeats as long as the top stays wet. A fun and silly variation on the famous drinking bird physics toy- and the T-Rex was a closely related ancestor to the dinosaurs that live today- birds! 


Low CoM Balancing Beasts

Get these and similar balancing toys here:

from Amazon: BUY NOW: Balancing Beasts

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Low CoM Balancing Toys: weights in the wing tips create a center of mass below the heads of these cute mythical creatures, making systems that are in stable equilibrium. Just like the famous balancing bird toy, no magnets used, instead the magic comes from engineering the center of mass to be outside the body of the object and below the balance point. 

Neon Flicker Flame Night Light

Similar old fashion flicker bulb lights available here:
From Amazon: BUY NOW Flicker Flame Neon Bulb 

Get this diffraction grating here to explore light source spectra:
From Amazon: BUY NOW: 500 line/mm diffraction grating

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Neon Flicker Flame Bulb: this charmingly designed night light evokes a theme of an old fashioned gas street lamp- however there is no flame, but instead the light is due to emission spectra from excited neon gas as a result of a discharge electric current from the 120V house mains. The flickering effect comes about because the current flow will increase the temperature near it, which raises the pressure and affects/raises the breakdown voltage near the current- so the glow from one area can only last as long as it takes to heat up and raise the breakdown voltage which then briefly kills the current in that area. In other physics, a diffraction grating shows that the gas is indeed neon, which only emits light at specific emission wavelengths- mostly reds with some bright yellow lines (and a clearly visible green line) at AC house voltages.

Switch Pitch Ball

Get one here: 

From Edicational Innovations: BUY NOW: Switch Pitch Ball

Note: this site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated

Switch Pitch Ball: this spherical assembly changes color by turning inside out when tossed into the air. A favorite of my mechanical toys with surprising physics. Interestingly the advertisements for this toy incorrectly claim air drag is involved in the transformation. To understand why the ball inverts first note that the ball is made of multiple components hinged together. In launching the ball from the hand an upward acceleration results in a torque that pivots each component around its center of mass, causing the rotation of these components in an organized way leading to the transformation. Imagine tossing a stick straight up. If the stick is perfectly vertical upon launch it will move straight up- but if it is initially slanted at all it will also begin to rotate upon launch. Similar physics underlies the motion of each component of the ball- shown here in 240 fps slow motion. The Switch Pitch is produced by the makers of the Hoberman Sphere. 


Spring Launcher Toy

Get these inexpensive toys here:

From Amazon: BUY NOW: Spring Launcher Monsters

Note: this site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated

Spring Launcher Toy: spring force vs. suction cup, or more specifically, Hooke’s law vs. fluid pressure of air. Initially the spring remains compressed (with potential energy stored) due to some part of the always present 14.7 pounds per square inch of air pressure pressing down on the flattened elastic cup. The toy suddenly launches when enough air leaks past the imperfect seal and reduces the partial vacuum under the cup, so that the spring can overcome the force of the fluid pressure of the air- rather catastrophically! So much physics behind this common toy. 

Crushmetric Holographic Foil Pen

Available here:

From Crushmetric: BUY NOW: Crushmetric Pen

From Art of Play: BUY NOW: Switch Pen

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Crushmetric Holographic: the Switch Pen with diffractive rainbow foil- functional kinetic art based on materials science and tessellation origami techniques. The crushed state can be reversed over and over in this incredible design by artist/inventor Noah Deledda, also known for his similar sculptures created from aluminum cans. 

Thumbler Gyroscopic Desk toy

Avilable here:

From Top Secret Toys: BUY NOW: Thumbler gyro toy

Note: this site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated

Gyroscopic Desk Toy: a new unique take on spinning tops and gyroscope type toys where the spin rate is induced by forced precession- that is, by swirling the device by hand at just the right rate. The top of the enclosed top is constrained to move in a circular trough that keeps it at the required precession angle. The physics is similar to the “Dyna Bee” wrist exercisers, but much easier to engage and spin up, and with a unique motion path. The toy is also equipped with LEDs that turn on with a centripetal switch and then create interesting patterns (that are hard to capture due to frame rate issues). A creation of physicist/inventor Gregory Ojakangas.