DIY

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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

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

Mirror Anamorphic Lenticular Cup & Saucer: a flamingo 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 once again!


Sonic Photonic Visualizer

This item came to me in my Summer 2023 Curiosity Box subsciption:
Get (or give!) a Curiosity Box subscription here: JOIN NOW: The Curiosity Box

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

Sonic Photonic Visualizer: a laser reflects from a small mirror mounted on a stretched rubber membrane which allows the projection of complex curves produced by the deformation of the membrane from sound waves. Yet another amazing kit from the VSauce team at @thecuriositybox which uses a balloon as the membrane for the top of the “drum”. The membrane is most sensitive to sound waves in the bass and midrange frequencies and I got the best reaction with my Bluetooth speaker playing Moon Flower by Tahüm- a snippet of which is featured here.

Stop & Go Pendulums

This vintage device was produced in the 1980s but similar devices are not hard to build. Here are (somewhat hard to find) steel balls with holes that will work nicely to construct pendulums: 
From Amazon: BUY NOW Drilled Spheres 

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

See my other physics toys featuring pendulums

Stop & Go Pendulums: a vintage desk toy from the 1980s that features a set of coupled pendulums for which kinetic energy transfers between the pendulums in a dramatic and cyclic way. The design is very simple- the pendulums are identical in size and mass and hang connected to the same strand of string. (Try making your own!) The pattern of stop and go repeats until the initial energy is dissipated by friction. This device was sold as the “Magic Motion” desk toy by Newton Products Corporation in New York.

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Invisible Ink and UV LED Pen

This item came to me in my Winter 2022 Curiosity Box subsciption:
Get (or give!) a Curiosity Box subscription here: JOIN NOW: The Curiosity Box

Get this amazing and inexpensive version of the Spirograph here:
From Amazon: BUY NOW: Spirograph Animator

Get a similar pen and UV light here: 
From Educational Innovations: BUY NOW UV Pen

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

Invisible Ink and UV Pen: this pen utilizes a clear ink that when dry is barely noticeable, but contains fluorescent compounds that reveals its presence under long wave ultraviolet light. This cool pen with UV LED light came in my @thecuriositybox yesterday where I applied it to make some hypotrochoid roulette curves with this pocket Spirograph set. 

 

 

Spirograph Animator

Get this amazing and inexpensive toy here:

From Amazon: BUY NOW: Spirograph Animator

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

Spirograph Animator: a turntable adds an ingenious embellishment to this classic math toy. When the centerpiece is put into rotation a strobe light turns on and the cyclic designs spring into a complex dance. Spirographs produce mathematical roulette curves called hypotrochoids, cyclical designs that repeat at varying integer multiples. When the strobe light frequency, and rotation frequency, match up with an integer multiple of one of the patterns, that roulette curve appears stationary while the other patterns stay in motion. Shown here is but one combination of many possible overlapping patterns that can be produced by the supplied set of gears and colored pens. 


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Simple Polarimeter

This DIY device is part of the polarization kit that you will get from a MEL Physics subscription:

Subscribe to: MEL Physics

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

Simple Polarimeter: Two linear polarizing sheets oriented at 90 degrees creates this device that reveals rainbows hidden within the patterns of polarization in the light transmitted by some common plastic objects. Just one of many amazing experiments from the MEL Physics science kit collection. Polypropylene is a clear transparent plastic comprised on long chain like molecules which interact with light wave orientation- when this plastic substance is heated to form things like utensils or containers, these long strand molecules lock in pattens of stress from the cooling, which are revealed as changes in color/frequency of the transmitted light.


Fluorescein v. Laser Frequency

Need a laser pointer? Incredibly, you can get 3 (one of each color) for under $20 (including S&H): 
From Amazon: BUY NOW Red+Green+Purple Laser Pointer

Make you own fluorescent solution with this powder: 
From STEMCell Science: BUY NOW: Fluorescein Powder

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

Fluorescein v. Laser Frequency: exploring how this famous fluorescent dye reacts to three frequencies of laser pointer using this unique liquid filled paperweight. Under Green (532 nm) we see some mild yellow fluorescence as the beam transmits through the liquid, under Red (635 nm) the beam transmits with no reaction, but under near UV Blue (450 nm) the beam is completely absorbed near the liquid surface and re-emitted in bright green with a peak at 515nm. A fun home experiment to explore quantum physics phenomena with inexpensive apparatus.

Horseshoe Magnet with Keeper

Similar and affordable magnets available here:
From Amazon: BUY NOW: Horseshoe Magnet with Keeper

Get some viewing film here:
From Amazon: BUY NOW: Color Magnetic Viewing Film

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

Horseshoe Magnet with Keeper: magnetic field lines connect North to South poles from one side of the U shaped magnet, through the air, to the other- and magnetic viewing film reveals the strong fields of this vintage magnet. However, when a bar of soft iron is attached, the magnetic field lines prefer to pass through the bar, and the field is then concentrated in the bar and significantly reduced in the surrounding air- basically shutting off the field around the magnet as seen by the viewing film. Such a bar is called a “keeper” which serves to contain the field and also persevere the strength of the magnet when not in use.

Wireframe Ambiguous Cube

Get the files (or order one printed) here:
From MakeAnything's MyMiniFactory: BUY NOW: Illusion Cube 3D Print Files
From Shapeways: BUY NOW: Ambiguous Cube Illusion

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

See the other illusions my collection: Ambiguous Objects

Wireframe Ambiguous Cube: another innovation of the ambiguous object illusion invented by mathematician Kokichi Sugihara of Meiji University- this time a 3D frame of a cube transforms to a cylinder! A new 3D print design from @make.anything. 


Compliant Mechanical Elephant

Get the .stl files for this 3D print here:
From Thingiverse: Download NOW: CM Elephant

Learn more: mechanical engineering of compliant mechanisms

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

Compliant Mechanical Elephant: a demonstration of engineering using flexible elements instead of pivot joints when creating linkages. In this whimsical and clever linkage design a sideways translation of the elephant creates only rotation at the tip of the pachyderm’s trunk. Note that the hole at the end of the trunk remains eerily stationary as the body translates horizontally back and forth. This demonstration model comes from the Compliant Mechanisms Research group at Brigham Young University. Thanks once again to Roger Key for producing this 3D print. 

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

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

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.