This item came to me in myCuriosity Box subsciption:
Get (or give!) a Curiosity Box subscription here:JOIN NOW:The Curiosity Box
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See also this similar device on CD art! Cassadaga by Bright Eyes
Lenticular Lens Decoder: Carefully align and slide this transparent sheet of horizontal prisms over this card of fine print and a hidden image of Inq the@thecuriosityboxmascot is revealed through a type of Moiré pattern interference. This 70 lens per inch sheet and specially printed card is part of a lenticular optics kit that came as part of my winter@thecuriositybox- amazing and fun!
This lamp is interesting, but the fabrication is low quality. Still, it is fun to see the internal reflections and it would make for a great party light. Definitelyread the reviews before purchasing! ($30-$45 USD)
From Amazon: DodecahedronInfinty Lamp
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Dodecahedron Infinity Lamp: lit from within by strips of LEDs the 12 plastic mirrored faces create a universe of interesting internal reflections. While the manufacturing quality of this item is pretty low, when the lights are off it looks pretty amazing.
Wikipedia has the detailsabout the actual shape of the Earth: oblate spheroidplanets
Here is an inexpensivetoy that shows similar physics: Rainbow Twirler
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Equatorial Bulge Demo: two springy circular rings flatten along their axis of rotation in proportion to the rate of spin in this classic teaching demonstration. This device demonstrates that centripetal accelerations applied to an elastic sphere will cause it to bulge at the equator- becoming an oblate spheroid. Isaac Newton predicted that given the Earth’s rotation, the radius to the equator would be larger than the radius to the North Pole by 1 part in 230. He was correct! (although overestimated slightly- swipe for description) Modern measurements indicate 1 part in 294.7. Question: At what location on Earth could you stand on land and be furtherest from its center? Mt Everest is a good guess, but the correct answer is the top of Mt Chimborazo in Ecuador. (swipe twice for details) Although Everest is higher above sea level, the equatorial bulge puts the top of Chimborazo a 2.2 km further into space from the center of the Earth.
Get this device here (in your choice of color):
From Etsy: BUY NOW: Dual Threaded Bolt Print
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Dual Threaded Bolt: this 3D printed fidget toy illustrates an interesting design that may have important engineering applications in preventing loosening of fasteners. Here one nut threads on clockwise as normal- the other threads on counterclockwise on the same bolt.
Get thisand other well made disection puzzles here:
From Etsy:BUY NOW:Square Dissection Puzzles
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See otherdissection puzzles in my collection
These puzzles are expertly laser cut and sold by GamesEfce. I spray-painted the pieces of mineto better show the shapes and relationships for the video.
Square to Dodecagon Dissection Puzzle: a square can be cut (dissected) into polygons and then reassembled into other regular polygons. Amazingly the 12-sided regular polygon can be cut into these six specific pieces that can then fit a square.
Neodymium magnets will produce the largest gap when suspending a nail or other iron rich objects.
Please use exterme caution when handling these magnets.
From Amazon:BUY NOW:Neodymium Super Magnet
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In Defiance of Gravity: a 3 oz plumb bob in suspension 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. Sculpture: oak, stainless steel chain and hardware, neodymium super magnet, standard plumb bob tool. Iron filings in oil align and chain together to reveal the magnetic field lines of the equilibrium configuration.
Get one here:
From Etsy: BUY NOW: The DeltaCELT
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The DeltaCELT: a new rattleback design where the indentations create an asymmetry in the distribution of mass that leads to rotation reversals when spun: 1) If spun clockwise, after about two full rotations, a complicated combination of friction, precession, and instability induced vibrations transforms the rotational energy into into end-to-end rattling (energy of oscillations) and then into rotational energy in the opposite direction. 2) If spun counter-clockwise, after about 30 full rotations the rotational energy translates into side-to-side oscillations leading to a clockwise reversal (swipe to see- less dramatic but still amazing). The design is made of solid brass and has the shape of a bisected prolate ellipsoid in the proportion of the mathematical constant δ =4.669.. (Feigenbaum dynamical constant) giving the name to this new design by astrophysicist Kenneth Brecher. The DeltaCELT comes with the polished slate spinning surface for optimal performance.
(out of production)
Trapped Sphere in Cube: a surprising aspect of the geometry of spheres and cubes- carved from a single block of wood is a sphere trapped within a cube frame. A classic folk woodworking novelty reconceived here with precision machining to create this seemingly impossible object.
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Get similar tensegrity sculptures here:
From Etsy: BUY NOW: TensegritySculpture
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Tensegrity for the Desk: an elegant, and stackable, desk toy version of this popular tensegrity configuration by maker/designer Micah Murdoch. Constructed from poplar wood, the design assembles easily with clever ball and socket connectors at the ends of the nylon support lines (3 long, 1 short). Stacking them seems to only increase the illusion of floating with the subtle way these structures defygravity. Another fun configuration of tensegrity concept, invented by Kenneth Snelson and made famous by the architect Buckminster Fuller in 1949.
This device came in my Curiosity Box subscrition. A great way to start collecting your own physics toys (and other brain food):
From the Vsauce team:BUY NOW:The Curiosity Box(New box will ship soon- get a great deal now)
Get similar (two shuttle) devices here:
From Etsy:BUY NOW
Trammel of Archimedes
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3-Shuttle Trammel of Archimedes: as the shuttles take turns completing their straight line journeys, the end of the crank arm traces an ellipse. This precision 3-shuttle version by the VSauce team came in my@thecuriositybox- made with high quality molded plastic parts that produce very smooth movement- a wonderful addition to my collection! Sometimes sold as a “do nothing machine” or “nothing grinder”, far from doing nothing this simple and crucially important mechanism demonstrates how rotational motion can be converted into translational oscillatory motion- such as how a piston can drive an engine’s crankshaft.
These gometirc candle holders are available from the artist's store here:
Fromglasperlenstern.de: BUY NOW: Glass Bead Star Tea Light
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Dresden Glass Bead Star: concentric designs of spherical glass beads produce geometric symmetries of shadow and refracted light from a tea light candle which serves as a point source of illumination. This “Glasperlen Stern” candle holder is one of many configurations offered from Dresden artist Andreas Schildhauer, each with glass set into porcelain from Freiberg.
I found this beautifulmodel on eBay and I'm not sure of its age or origin.
Grant Sanderson describes the elegant geometry behind this curious arrangement.
On YouTube: 3Blue1Brown descibes the Dandelin Spheres
Wikipediaalso has a good description: the Dandelin Spheres
Here are some 3D print models of conic sections:
From Etsy: BUY NOW: Conic SectionModels
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Dandelin Spheres: Slicing a cone with a plane can produce an ellipse, and two spheres encapsulated by the same cone will always have the small sphere touching one focus and the large sphere contacting the plane at the other focus. This beautiful acrylic model shows this geometry for one choice of cone width and dissecting plane angle- but it always true. This geometric construction is named for its inventor, French mathematician Germinal Pierre Dandelin back in 1822, and with it he proved theorems concerning properties of ellipses and other conic sections- mathematical entities that play a roll in much physics- including the orbits of planets. Fun math that I wish someone would have showed me back in high school!
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
Note: this site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated
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 anobject you cansuspend in air.
Order a holoscope from the artist's gallery here:
The artwork of Gary Allison:BUY NOWHoloscopeworld.com
Look through otherholoscopes in my collection here: Holoscope Kaleidoscopes
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Holoscopes: polyhedra of mirrors (dodecahedron and cube) with the interior viewed from one corner and illuminated by light entering from glass spheres placed at all of the other vertices. A type of kaleidoscope based on mirrored polyhedra by artist Gary Allison@holoscope2000, and future posts will include tetrahedron, octahedron, and icosahedron holoscope forms as I complete my Platonic solids set. Each holoscope has stained glass on the exterior and front surface mirrors on the inside which create the amazing and seemingly impossible spaces within.
Hidden Mechanism of Fluorescent Bulbs@exploratorium: only half of this bulb is covered with the typical internal white phosphor coating- revealing the electron emitting cathode and eerie blue glow of an excited mercury vapor at low pressure. Energetic electrons flow from one end of the tube to the other, exciting the mercury atoms to emit their characteristic emission spectra, mostly just a bright blue line (436 nm) and green line (546 nm) as seen here with a diffraction grating. Importantly there are also two strong invisible UV emission lines, which are absorbed by the glass in the non-coated section, but are used to make the bulb appear white by stimulating various blends of phosphors, which then emit a wide spectrum of wavelengths/colors- revealed here by an identical diffraction grating. A rare look at the complex physics and engineering of this common light source. ? With thanks to the Exploratorium!
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This amazing toy for under $10:
From Amazon: BUY NOW: Gifeez Animation Toy
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Gifeez: a modern zoetrope type device with built in strobe light to explore the physics and psychophysics of motion animation- still images flashed in rapid succession produces the illusion of motion through persistence of vision. This inexpensive device has two modes: 1) the strobe frequency is set to various ratios of the spin frequency creating fascinating motion of abstract geometrical images, and 2) the strobe is set to animate simple cartoons. When the image flash rate is above the flicker fusion frequency (approximately 16Hz) we perceive fluid motion- the basis for all movies and TV. This device includes a centripetal switch that turns on the strobe and a motor that keeps the disk spinning for a couple minutes and comes with 15 printed double sided disks and a few blanks to allow for your own designs.
Get afog globe here:
From Amazon: BUY NOW: Fog Globe
Fog Globe: an ideal souvenir for a San Francisco winter- snow is very rare (1976 recoded one inch downtown) but prolonged fog marks the winter season. The “fog” in this globe consists of small glitter particles of uniform density that can be agitated into temporary suspension and then allowed to settle on the bottom giving the impression of dissipating fog. The particles settle out over the span of a couple minutes and at regular rate since they are fairly uniform and the drag force experienced by the particles depends on the size and weight of each.
Get a similar tiny working engine here: (brass and stainless steel)
From engineDIY: BUY NOW: Tiny Steam Engine
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Oscillating Cylinder Steam Engine: a functional “wobbler” type piston steam engine complete with boiler and flywheel. In this design the cylinder and piston both rock back and forth, acting as the valve mechanism to allow the hot steam to enter through a small hole, and then exit on the next stroke out through the tiny exhaust port in the top. Takes about 4 minutes to get going after the lamp is lit. A tiny version of the invention that powered the industrial revolution.
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