Maxwell's Top
Available from my friends at Grand Illusions Ltd.:
From Grand Illusions: BUY NOW Maxwell's Top with Spiral
Note: this site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated
Maxwell’s Top: a new miniature version of one of my favorite demonstrations of the strange properties of rotating bodies- based on a famous experiment by the great physicist James Clerk Maxwell. When this bell shaped brass top is spinning an interesting stability can occur- push on the stem with an object and the top will push back, forcing the stem against that object, and friction will cause the stem to roll along and trace the edge of the object. In this design the stem will trace along the edge of a metal spiral, clinging to it like a magnet- but magnets are NOT involved here. The key to this design is to make the contact point/tip of the top at its own center of mass, then any frictional force in contact with the stem will produce a torque about the contact point at right angle to the direction of friction that creates the stabilizing force (students of physics may recognize application of the right hand rule here). An extreme physics toy- beautifully designed and crafted by Kontax Engineering Ltd
Maxwell's Dynamical Top: with Color Wheel
Get this accurate and beautiful 1/2 scale replica here:
From Machined Marvels: BUY NOW: Maxwell's Dynamical Top
Note: this site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated
Maxwell’s Dynamical Top: A 1/2 scale precision replica of the famous “Dynamical Top” created and demonstrated by the great physicist James Clerk Maxwell in 1857. The four color disk allowed Maxwell to see and study the direction of the angular momentum vector when a spinning object is subjected to a jolt/impact. After the top gets a flick from my hand note that one can see a circle of evenly changing color- the angular momentum vector points outward through the center of that circle. Balanced such that the spin point was placed at its center of mass, this unique top was used by Maxwell to experimentally test many theories about how the Earth and planets wobble as they spin. Swipe to see another astonishing property of this top described in a previous post. This beautiful historical replica is now available from machinist and creator Jim Peever @machinedmarvels- and as far as I know the only other replicas of this device where made in the 1880’s!
Maxwell's Dynamical Top: Historical Replica
Get a similar and well made modern take on this device:
From Kontax via Grand Illusions: BUY NOW: Maxwell's Dynamical Top
Maxwell’s Dynamical Top: one of my favorite demonstrations of the strange properties of rotating bodies- shown here with a 1/2 scale but exacting replica of the famous “Dynamical Top” created and demonstrated by the great physicist James Clerk Maxwell in 1857. When this brass bell shaped top is spinning an interesting stability can occur- push on the pointed stem and the top will push back, forcing the stem against that object, and friction will cause the stem to roll along and trace the edge of the object. Note- magnets are NOT involved here. The key to this design is to make the contact point/tip of the top at its own center of mass, then any frictional force in contact with the stem will produce a torque about the contact point at a right angle to the direction of friction that creates the stabilizing force (students of physics may recognize application of the right hand rule here). This beautiful historical replica iwas created by master machinist Jim Peever @machinedmarvels.
Maxwell’s Dynamical Top
This version of Maxwell's Top was produced in limited quantities in the 1990s by Lee Valley Tools. Currently hard to find.
See these posts for a detailed replica of Maxwell's Top Appratus
Note: this site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated
Similar physics to gyroscopes! Click on this link for many interesting types.
Maxwell’s Dynamical Top: one of my favorite demonstrations of the strange properties of rotating bodies- this version based on an experiment by the great physicist James Clerk Maxwell. When this massive brass bell shaped top is spinning an interesting stability can occur- push on the stem with an object (like a pencil) and the top will push back, forcing the stem against that object, and friction will cause the stem to roll along and trace the edge of the object. In this design the stem will trace along the edge of a metal spiral, clinging to it like a magnet- but magnets are NOT involved here. The key to this design is to make the contact point/tip of the top at its own center of mass, then any frictional force in contact with the stem will produce a torque about the contact point at right angle to the direction of friction that creates the stabilizing force (students of physics may recognize application of the right hand rule here). An extreme physics toy! Produced in small quantities 20 years ago, unfortunately hard to find for sale now.