Plasma Elephant Lamp
This and similar vintage devices by LumiSource sometimes available here:
From eBay: Search NOW: LumiSource Plasma Lamps
Plasma Elephant Lamp: one of my weirdest thrift shop physics finds- a plasma lamp of blue glass in the form of a circus elephant, which lights up pink from low pressure noble gas glow discharge. A small high frequency coil in the base creates the high voltage potential with the glass casing which is coated with a thin transparent film of metal. Current flow through the thin gas produces the glowing zigzagged path like that of lightning but more rounded.
Tusi Couple Marble Machine
The files and full instructions to make this device can be found here:
From Instructables: Visit NOW: Marblevator, Marbles Go Round or Back and Forth?
Parts needed:
From Amazon: BUY NOW: magnets : marbles : battery pack : specific motor
Note: this site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated
Tusi Couple Marble Machine: steel marbles move back and forth in straight lines in a specific choreography that is based on the motion of a circle within a circle. This amazing 3D print brings to life a geometric discovery from the year 1247 by astronomer and mathematician Nasir al-Din al-Tusi showing how circular motion can produce sinusoidal linear oscillations when a small circle rolls inside a larger circle of twice its size. In this ingenious design by maker extraordinaire Greg Zumwalt, magnets underneath pull the marbles on their paths. It was great fun to assemble this device with parts expertly printed by my colleague Jason Veatch.
Infinity Cube Lamp
Get this lamp here:
From Amazon: BUY NOW: Infinity Cube Lamp
Note: this site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated
Infinity Cube Lamp: parallel partially mirrored panes create the illusion of depth through the physics of reflection. This nicely constructed lamp utilizes precise geometry and ceramic LEDs provide the illumination to create a wonderful illusion of depth.
Homestake Mine Core and Particle Physics
Learn more about the latest in neutrino physics here: DUNE Experiment
Get similar core samples here: From eBay: Search Now: Rock Core Samples
Homestake Mine Core and Particle Physics: this cylindrical rock sample was drilled from as deep as 4000 ft below the mountain top near Lead South Dakota in one of the world’s most productive gold mines. The microscopic gold in this deposit is mixed in with pyrite (shiny veins in this sample) and sulphur compounds. Mining operations ended in 2002 but some of the shafts and caverns now contain the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) which will examine a beam of particles traveling through the Earth produced by the Fermilab Accelerator complex more than 800 miles away in Illinois. The experiment, set to begin in 2027, will address some of the biggest unanswered questions in particle physics such as the matter–antimatter asymmetry of the universe.
Slinky on an Escalator Phonotrope Spinner
Get this amazing spinner here:
From Etsy: BUY NOW: Animated Slinky Spinner
Note: this site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated
3D Phonotrope Spinner: slinky on an escalator! When the rate of rotation matches the rate of the smartphone video process (wait for it) 12 animated 3D-printed slinkys “spring” into motion. The 3D printed and precisely placed depictions of the famous toy is specifically designed to interact with the video process, similar to the animation effect of a flip book, but in a repeating cycle like that of the phenakistiscope, the 1833 invention that started moving media animation that lead to the development of movies and video.
Cartesian Jellyfish Divers
Get these charming jellyfist here:
From EI: BUY NOW: Jellyfish Divers
Cartesian Jellyfish: increasing pressure in the water compresses air bubbles inside the plastic capsules, filling them further with water making them sink in this cute version of the famous Cartesian Diver toy. In this whimsical version the jellyfish also spin when the pressure is released as the water is channeled out of the capsule/head in a sideways jet. Pascal’s principle states that any change in pressure on an enclosed fluid (such as squeezing the plastic bottle) is transmitted evenly to every part of the fluid- the physics of hydraulic brakes! Named after the physicist and philosopher Rene Descartes.
Spider-Man Photopolymer Hologram
This vintage hologram available on this 1995 comic book:
From eBay: BUY NOW: Spider-Man Hologram Comic
Spider-Man Photopolymer Hologram: this amazing hologram features Spider-Man and his alter ego Peter Parker (Scott Leva) in 3D animation, from the cover of classic comic book released in 1995. The 3D image by comes to life by rotating the card to reveal an animated 360 degree view. Unlike photographs, holograms are recordings of the interference pattern of light waves, and this encoded information is stored in a layer thinner than a sheet of paper.
Sublimation and Deposition of Iodine
Get this amazing phase change demonstration here:
From HaloPlasma: BUY NOW: Iodine Crystal Bulb
Note: this site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated
Sublimation and Deposition of Iodine: this bulb was evacuated and filled with pure iodine vapor, some of which crystallizes onto the glass surface. When the bulb is exposed to a heat source, such as a halogen lamp, the iodine crystals undergo a phase change directly to a purple tinted gas (via sublimation) at a temperature of about 40° C. The gas then forms crystals (via deposition) on a cooler parts of the bulb. The crystal growth shown here is 2 hours of time lapse. Set this bulb on a sunny window sill and get a new batch of crystals each day!
Iridescent Ferrofluid
Get this ferrofluid display here:
From Etsy: BUY NOW: Iridescent Ferrofluid
Note: this site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated
Iridescent Ferrofluid: the latest formulation of colloidal ferromagnetic liquid in a specially prepared water-alcohol suspension display cell. The interplay between magnetic force and surface tension allows for the strange shape shifting from rounded blobs to starfish like spikes. As with all ferrofluids on the market, the chemical formulation is kept a trade secret-- and the coloring on this version is spectacular!
Shashibo d6
Get this d6 version here:
From Amazon: BUY NOW: Shashibo d6 to d12
Note: this site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated
Shashibo d6 to 12: a clever take on this popular puzzle where a d6 die transforms to a rhombic dodecahedron d12 die. The math recipe of the Shashibo: dissect a cube into 12 equal irregular tetrahedra and then connect these pieces symmetrically with hinges and mix in 36 magnets. The result: a device with more than 70 geometrically stable and aesthetic configurations.
Jacob's Ladder Mechanism
Print one with these files:
From Printables: Downlad Now: Jacob's Ladder 3D print
Get the original folk toy here:
From Amazon: BUY NOW: Jacob's Ladder
Note: this site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated
Jacob’s Ladder Mechanism: a 3D print version of the famous ribbon and wood folk toy, but with ridged components. This version gives interesting insights to the cascading effect- when a segment has rotated down through 180 degrees the pivot hinge changes location to the segment below, like a domino chain reaction but with no collision. Expertly printed in silk filament by my friend @david_tobin
Four Ring Spinner Fidget
Get this unique device here:
From Etsy: BUY NOW: Magnetic Rings Spinner
Note: this site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated
Four Ring Spinner: a spherical ceramic magnet attracts four interlocked split rings and is then set spinning on a concave stainless steel base- amazingly the system always finds a stable axis about which to rotate smoothly. An oddly satisfying physics fidget from puzzle designer Doug Engel.
USA Holospex
Available here:
From Amazon: BUY NOW: USA Holospex Glasses
Check out these amazing animal themed hologram glasses (especially the sharks- they bite!)
From Amazon: BUY NOW: Wildeyes Holospex
Note: this site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated
USA Holospex: a physics toy souvenir I picked up from the US Capitol gift shop. With these glasses on one will see USA on the top and bottom of every point source of light, as well as some sparkling spectral lines. Sparks from an actual sparkler look amazing. 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.
Magnetic Viewing Film: Fridge Magnetic Structure
Get this new and fun technology here:
From Amazon: BUY NOW: Color Magnetic Viewing Film
Note: this site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated
Magnetic Poles of Refrigerator Magnets: visualizing the invisible with color gradient magnetic viewing film- the secrets of refrigerator magnets revealed: strips of north and south poles. Compared to the two poles at the end of the horseshoe magnet 🧲 the collection of parallel strips seen in the fridge magnet is a special orientation of the magnetic poles called a Halbach array, which allows for the combination of poles to create a strong magnetic field on one side and a very weak one on the other- refrigerator magnets only stick on one side by design!
Itacolumite Flexible Stone
Sometime available here (but kind of pricey):
From eBay: search now: Itacolumite
More details on the physics from my friend Steve Mould
Itacolumite: a curiosity of geological nature- a bendable, flexible rock. Here are two samples of this naturally occurring quartz-rich sandstone- a sample from the field, and a cut thin section that shows how flexible this rock really is.
Ambigram Zoetrope Coin
Start your own physics toy collection with a subscrition to the Curiosity Box
Note: this site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated
Ambigram Zoetrope Coin: this whimsical spinning coin just arrived in my @thecuriositybox subscription, with an ambigram of heads/tails on both sides (for complete ambiguity?) and a fun twirling coin zoetrope animation as seen via video aliasing.
Rolling Pendulum Acrobat
Similar sculptures can be found here:
From Amazon: BUY NOW: Kinetic Rolling Stick Guy
Higher end rolling pendulums available here:
From Kyle's Kinetics: BUY NOW: Rolling Pendulum
Note: this site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated
Rolling Pendulum Acrobat: vintage "Action and Motion" kinetic sculpture manufactured in 1978 by Otagiri. The center of mass of the stick figure is very close to the horizontal bar (axis of rotation) so the figure rotates with minimal resistance. The parallel bars are slightly concave so the rotation slows down as it climbs and then reverses to roll back towards the center- transfer of potential energy to kinetic energy and back again to potential. The process repeats until friction dissipates the kinetic energy and the system comes to rest.
As seen in Free Guy:
Gauss Gun
Similar device available here:
From Amazon: BUY NOW: Gauss Gun
Note: this site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated
Gauss Gun: acceleration of steel balls through magnetic potential energy and cascading collisions. Four neodymium magnets provide the potential energy that is converted into significant kinetic energy of the end steel ball. The initial configuration has two steel balls on one side of each magnet- an incoming ball on the opposite side accelerates and impacts each magnet in turn sending each loosely connected second ball off with greater speed.