Frabjous Geometric Sculpture Puzzle
Get one here- five colors to choose from:
From MoMath: BUY NOW: Frabjous Sculpture Puzzle
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Frabjous Geometric Sculpture Puzzle: 30 identical laser cut acrylic pieces interlock into 12 interconnected five point stars (each with a spiral vortex center) in this puzzle based of the Frabjous sculpture by artist and professor of mathematics George Hart (Prof. Hart is now on Instagram, follow him at @george.hart.sculptor to see more of his amazing work.) Note that if one connects the tips of the stars one gets the outline of a dodecahedron, with its 30 edges and 12 sides, and if one considers the face planes of the linked pentagrams the underlying shape is a polyhedron called the “great rhombic triacontahedron”. A year or so ago I got to visit the National Museum of Mathematics in NYC where I bought this puzzle in the @momath1 museum shop. This puzzle was great fun to assemble- buy one to support this inspirational museum, and make a great sculpture for your bookshelf!
Centripetal Kinetic Toy
This "iBall" desk toy is no longer in producltion. Howerver, a similar version of this toy can be made from these components:
From Amazon: BUY NOW: two piece acrylic shell
From Amazon: BUY NOW: 1/4 inch ball bearings
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Centripetal Kinetic Toy: seven rolling steel balls hug to the inside of the acrylic sphere given sufficient velocity. Here the balls are launched such that their orbits are in the same plane, and due to their angular momentum (and a torque due to gravity) the plane of rotation precesses like the axis of a spinning top until friction slows them down. This toy was made in 2007 (sadly no longer in production) and marketed under the name "iBall".
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.
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.
Popsicle Stick Bomb
Craft sticks work great:
From Amazon: BUY NOW: Stick Bomb Supplies
Amazingly: There is a Wikipedia entry on Stick Bombs and their physics
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Popsicle Stick Bomb: a form of simple tensegrity, the elastic potential energy of the bent sticks is dramatically released under application of a slight concussive force such as an impact with a table top- shown here in forward and backward slow motion (swipe to see three more explosions). Shown here is one of the simplest constructions with 5 flat sticks woven into a spring-loaded configuration held in place by friction and tension induced by the bending of the wood. A nice demonstration of energy conversion- potential to kinetic.
The FluoroSphere
The kit includes the UV LED base, elegant glass sphere, and enough fluorescent gel for many repeat lights shows.
From PyroFarms: BUY NOW: FluoroSphere
From Amazon: BUY NOW: FluoroSphere
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The FluoroSphere: intricate and dynamic lights shows are produced within an elegant glass sphere as fluorescent dyes in mineral oil slowly mix into room temperature water. Ultraviolet LEDs (in the base on which the sphere rests) make the dyes glow brightly and reveal the initial nondiffusive mixing structure which includes the phenomena of drops, plumes, and other features of Rayleigh-Taylor instabilities. Shown here, slightly sped up, is the first 8 minutes or so of the process which takes up to half an hour to mix evenly. The green light is characteristic of the famous fluorescein dye.
Gravity Defying Nail and Magnet
Neodymium magnets will produce the largest gap when suspending a nail.
Please use exterme caution when handling these magnets.
From Amazon: BUY NOW: Neodymium Super Magnet
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Magnetic Defiance of Gravity: a nail suspended between a chain and a powerful neodymium magnet. Ferromagnetic attraction over a distance of many millimeters, and a reminder of the presence of the typically invisible electromagnetic forces all around us. Make your own with a paperclip, string, and a refrigerator magnet- or get a neodymium magnet and see how massive an object you can suspend in air.
Floating Rings Illusion: Dr. Manhattan Booth
Created in my shop with these parts:
From Amazon: plastic rings, plastic sphere, blue paint
Inspired by the Phone Booths in the new Watchmen series.
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Calling Dr. Manhattan: floating rings illusion device inspired by the recent Watchmen series. Two attached rings appear to roll in an impossible way around an orb, featured in a number of scenes on top of blue interplanetary phone booths in the new Watchmen series. Created in my shop with plastic rings and some blue spray paint.
Hoberman Actuator with Sphere
The Actuator mechanism is out of production but can still be found on eBay, comes with power supply, Expandagon kit, and connecotors that snap on to a Hoberman Sphere
The spheres are still in production and come in various sizes and colors:
From Amazon: BUY NOW Hoberman Spheres
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Hoberman Actuator with Sphere: This actuator mechanism creates kinetic art out of a Hoberman sphere, designed to smoothly expand and contract the isokinentic structure. The Hoberman sphere itself is a special assembly of foldable linkages consisting of rigid bars and simple hinges is kinematically over constrained- motion can only occur along the radial direction and the movement of any hinge creates motion in all the joints. The engineering and physics behind deployable space structures!
Tessellation Origami
See more of Ekaterina's amazing work on her website gallery: Kusudama me!
Contact her to buy her artwork, or you can buy her books and learn how to fold amazing geometries!
From Amazon: BUY NOW: Ekaterina Lukasheva: Papercraft and Origami
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Tessellation Origami: nested spirals and triangles created from one flat sheet of paper! This beautiful work by Ekaterina Lukasheva also demonstrates how folded paper can obtain very different physical properties than that of the original flat paper. When stretched out this paper sculpture prefers to snap back into spirals and triangles, and although most materials bulge out when compressed along one direction, here the design compresses evenly along all three axis of the hexagonal symmetry. Title: Electricity-A Variaton of Spaced unit Opus_T-142.
Magnetic Suspension Sculpture
The DIY version can be assemebled with these parts. Steel wire of guage 10 or 12 should work well.
From Amazon: BUY NOW: Quilting Hoop, Neodyumium Magnet, Steel Wire
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Magnetic Hoops Suspension Sculpture: Steel circles are suspended by a magnet (black sphere) 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. Made by Rathcon Inc. in 1970. Swipe to see my DIY version made from a quilting hoop, neodymium magnets, and some bailing wire.
Vibration Unthreading
Get inexpensive small motors and accesories for DIY projects here:
From Amazon: BUY NOW DC Motors Kit
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Vibration Unthreading: a DIY project to see if just shaking a bolt at the right frequency could make a standard nut rotate and fall off. I believe the mechanism is based on similar physics to the phase locking propeller toys featured in my recent posts. Motivated by videos seen on Instagram where a brass bolt is placed in magnetic putty and the nut mysteriously rotates up and off- now convinced that vibration is how that effect is produced. Here a small DC motor spins an offset mass to produce the vibrations.
Spinner Fidget Trick
Click this link for a gyroscope that will perform the same trick!
Spinner Fidget Trick: defy gravity!- a trick to try with a fidget spinner you might have in a drawer somewhere. For the trick to work the spinner needs to have most of its mass far from the center (not all spinners will work)- and you may need to drill a hole down its center to attach an axle. This Spinpal spinner has three heavy steel spheres placed to maximize rotational inertia, that along with precision bearings, gives this fidget toy properties of a quality gyroscope. Give the spinner significant RPMs and it will suspend from, and precess around, a string! Thanks to @spinpal for sending me this a while back.
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Reverse Cartesian Diver
Glass divers available here: From Amazon: BUY NOW Glass Divers
The reverse diver needs a bottle with a oval shaped cross section. I used the bottle from this product- it has the right shape and size and the label comes off easily:
From Amazon: BUY NOW Oval Shaped Bottle Source
Inexpensive and fun diver kits available here:
From Educational Innovations: BUY NOW Cartesian Diver Kits
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Wikipedia has the details on the Cartesian diver (and reverse diver).
Reverse Cartesian Diver: physics puzzle (swipe for hint). On the left is a Cartesian diver- pressing on the bottle forces water into the glass diver, which then compresses the bubble in diver’s head allowing it to sink. On the right is a reverse Cartesian diver- again the bottle is pinched but this time the diver ascends- why?
Salt Fractionation
All the ingredients are available from your local market/drugstore. The trick is to find a dye that works for acetone, but will not color water- believe it on not blue glitter will color the acetone nicely and not change the salt water. Follow this link for details:
ChemEd X: Blog of Prof. Tom Kuntzleman
Of course Amazon has what you will need:
From Amazon: BUY NOW
acetone, blue glitter, food coloring, cool bottle
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Salt Fractionation: two liquids that won’t stay mixed! Acetone (dyed blue) floats on top of the higher density salt water (dyed orange). Acetone usually dissolves in water through hydrogen bonding interactions, but solubility can be altered. In a process called “salting out” a sufficient amount of salt is dissolved such that the water molecules, which are much more attracted to the resulting Na+ and Cl- ions (through ion-dipole bonds), will then ignore the weaker acetone hydrogen bonds. This results in the spontaneous separation (shown here in real time) of the liquids no matter how well shaken up.
The Orb Drop IV
A new KickStarter campaign from engineer and maker extraordinaire Rian Suiter. Rian has delivered on each all 11 (eleven!) of his creative physics toy related KickStarter campaigns to date. Check out his latest here:
From KickStarter: Order NOW Orb Drop IV marble run track
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The Orb Drop IV: @orbdrop has created another fun DIY marble run- this one uses an Archimedean screw mechanism to bring the marbles continuously back to the top where they are launched along one of three paths- including a vortex funnel. Gravitational potential energy is transformed to the kinetic energy of the orbs as they loop and negotiate the banked turns of the snaking tracks. Three AA batteries and a small motor power the transport assembly.
Chain Fountain
The best effect (highest fountain) is obtained by using #10 size chain with a bead diameter of 3/16" (4.8mm). This spool has 100 feet of chain, the same length as used in the video.
From Amazon: BUY NOW #10 ball chain
Wikipedia has the details on the discovery of the chain fountain, and for those that want the physics here is the paper: Understanding the Chain Fountain from Proceedings of the Royal Society A, 2014
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Chain Fountain: as the chain flows out of the glass under the pull of gravity the beads don't simply roll over the edge but instead arc up upward like a fountain. As each link is pulled and tilted upward the adjacent link is tilted downward and pressed into the pile- by Newton's 3rd law the pile presses back pushing each bead upward into the air. A segment of the video is shown in slow motion where the fountain is at maximum height. This phenomena was recently discovered by Steve Mould (more to be seen at his YouTube channel) and the details of the physics is described in the Proceedings of the Royal Society by Biggins & Warner (2014).