Get a similar designhere:
From Amazon: BUY NOW: Vibration Powered Spin Top
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Vibration Powered Top: this top is battery powered and will spin for a day or so on two CR2032 button batteries- and it also puts on a light show! Remarkably the mechanism that keeps it spinning involves intermittent pulses of vibrations, using the same device found in mobile phones that create the buzzing haptics. You can hear the buzzing as it operates, although the top has to be spinning pretty fast before the vibrations will feed it kinetic energy. I got this device more than ten years ago sold as “Thumbs Up Infinity Top” and is no longer in production. However versions with USB rechargeable batteries are currently available.
Get this affordable desk toy here:
From Amazon: BUY NOW: Perpetual Marble Machine
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Perpetual Marble Run: another fun variation on the perpetual motion simulator that is oddly satisfying to watch. Here steel balls are given a magnetic kick that propels them back to the top of the system using a battery, a coil, a set of large capacitors, and a magnetic sensor unit along with circuit boards to perfect the timing. An affordable desk toy- and this transparent version serves as a reminder that when someone claims a perpetual motion device the question to ask is: “where’s the battery hidden?”
Get similar plasma based lamps here:
From Amazon:BUY NOW:Plasma Lamps
Vintage LumiSource lamps sometimes found here:
From Etsy:BUY NOW:Plasma Lamps
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Plasma Valentine: a vintage lamp with an engineered mix of low pressure noble gasses (and three colors of phosphorescent thin coatings) to exhibit glow discharge in plasma filaments. A small high frequency (Tesla) coil in the base creates the high voltage potential between an electrode and the metal coated glass heart. Current flow through the thin gas then produces the colorful emission spectra in the form glowing zigzagged pathes like that of lightning but more rounded
Get a nicly mounted specimen of NWA 7325 here:
From Areolite MeteoritesInc: BUY NOW: Mercury Candidate Specimen
See other meteorites in my collection.
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Rock from the Planet Mercury? Currently there are about 83000 studied and catalogued meteorites, of which 744 are confirmed as originating from the Moon, 417 from the planet Mars, and many others are known to originate from asteroids such as Vesta as their “parent body”. Researchers suspect that some meteorites might have originated from the planet Mercury, although none have been confirmed. This 16 micro gram piece is part of meteorite NWA 7325 found in 2012 and is a possible candidate for Mercury origin. Its chemical signature matches well with data from space probes, but its radiometric date is a bit too old to be consistent with planetary origin. Still it remains one of the only candidates- and I got this piece from the Tucson Show booth of@aerolitemeteoritesat the Mineral & Fossil Marketplace on Oracle Road (Feb 2025).
Get these amazing works offunctional kinetic arthere:
From Crushmetric:BUY NOW:Crushmetric Art
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Crushmetric Pen and Tumbler: functional kinetic art based on materials science and tessellation origami techniques- and rendered in shimmering iridescent holographic foil. Open the water bottle or click the pen, and the “crushed state” appears, close them and the pattern seems to dissolve away. The process can be reversed over and over in these incredible designs by artist/inventor Noah Deledda- also known for his similar sculptures created from aluminum cans.
Get this 3D printed puzzle here:
From Etsy: BUY NOW: What the F? Puzzle
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What the F? Puzzle: fun math involved in the design of this puzzle, which illustrates how the concept of area can challenge our intuitions. A very nice version of the missing square dissection paradox puzzle by designer Dan Asay.
Get this well crafted device here:
From Etsy: BUY NOW: The Perpetual Pedulum
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The Perpetual Pendulum: scientific kinetic art featuring the demonstration classic “simple pendulum” of a mass at the end of a string, made famous by Galileo who first noted the mathematical regularity of such systems. In this device the mass is also a magnet, and four AA batteries and a simple electromagnetic kicker circuit in the base gives a tiny push to the magnet upon each swing (making a slight click sound), compensating for energy dissipated by friction- and keeping the system in motion for many months! I’ve modified my device with pegs that alter the length to the rotation axis- note the mass still achieves equal height on both sides (conservation of energy). Designed and produced by Wylie Wisnewski.
Get a sample of yellow banded fluorite here:
From Etsy: BUY NOW: Banded UV reactivre Fluorite
Quality 365 nm UV flashlights available here:
From Amazon:BUY NOW:Convoy UB Flashlight
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Fluorescence in Banded Fluorite: a spectacular specimen of yellow fluorite exhibits glowing bands of blue (and a layer of red) under long wave UV. The colorful glow comes from complex quantum mechanical behavior where high energy UV photons are absorbed and then lower energy photons are emitted- the physics of fluorescence. In 1852 physicist George Stokes bestowed the name of fluorescence to this phenomenon based on this amazing property of the natural mineral fluorite.
I got this beautiful split pair specimen from Aerolite Meteorites Inc (link takes youto website).
Affordable meteorites also found here:
From Etsy: BUY NOW:Meteorites for sale
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L3 Chondrite Meteorite on Magnetic Stand: identification of rocks that fell from space (inside and out edition)- chondrites are stony iron meteorites with a high percentage of nickel-iron in the form of little spherical blobs called chondrules. This split pair allows one to clearly view the shiny chondrules within, but also see the characteristic fusion crust on the exterior- two properties exclusive of rocks from space. This type of meteorite is so full of these metal blobs that they are strongly attracted to a magnet- and a neodymium magnet can serve as an accessible display mount with the two sliced pieces held in place by the strong field. I obtainedthis exemplary specimen from Aerolite Meteorites Inc.
Get this interesting top here:
From WoodenWagon: BUY NOW: Wobbler Top
Top-heavy Top: an interesting spinning top toy with a center of mass high above the point of contact, and precession leads to rotation about two axes resulting in curious motion of the sphere- which seems to defy gravity, slowly descending as the rotational kinetic energy dissipates due to friction.
Get a nice tippe-top from these sources:
From Etsy:BUY NOWFlip Over Tops
From Amazon:BUY NOWTippe-Tops
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ransparent Tippe-Top: a recent toy shop find in a bargain bin- an oddly satisfying see through version of the inverting spin top. These flip-over tops demonstrate complex physics: friction with the surface provides a torque that acts on the existing angular momentum of the top to flip it over. The top will stay flipped until the spin rate slows down enough to where it loses stability.
The Glow Brickhas become an collectors item. Some available here (but pricy):
From Etsy: BUY NOW: Vintage Glow Brick
Note: from my research the creatorof the Glow Brick isAlvaro Catalan De Ocon, as described in ths article from 2015, however, most auction sites claim this is a workbyPierre Giraudon from the 1970s- yet the photos used are often exactlythose from the Suck UK catalog. Giraudon was known for his resin scupltures, but I have not seen any evidence he produced a sculpture with a lighbulb. Let me know if you have seen one authenticallyfrom the 1970s- thanks!
Glow Brick: a desk toy paperweight featuring a real lightbulb encased in resin. Within the bulb is phosphorescent pigment in more resin that glows blue after exposure to bright light and then fades as the quantum excitations decay. The glow in the dark substance fills the bulb to its base, but differences in index of refraction between the glass of the bulb and the resin makes it look as though the glow comes from a sphere from most viewing angles- weird! Fun pop art that began as a school thesis project of designer Alvaro Catalan De Ocon. Now out of production but sold since 2001 by Suck UK. The Glow Brick has become a collectors item and fetches a high price on auction sites. Got mine from a catalog back in 2002.
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The CUMOS Cube is a creation of artist Minori Yamazaki. Artwork available for purchase.
From Etsy:BUY NOW:Cosmos in a Box
Fron Grand Illusions:BUY NOW:Cosmos in a Box
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Mini CUMOS Cube: Another astonishing creation from@minori.yamazaki, a cubic kaleidoscope that produces a Cosmos in a box via internal reflections from mirrors within. A moving light source (a white light and then a green laser pointer) projected on the exterior of the cube produces the amazing animation effect on the multiple reflections. I have 4 of these boxes in my collection, each with its own unique and fanciful universe.
Get this exact device here:
From Pixeluxe: BUY NOW: Pixel Crystal
See aslo: Color Lithophanes
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Pixeluxe Pixel Crystal: pixelate anything as you view the world through this hand held optical device. Made of optical quality glass, the geometry is that of two concave cylindrical lenses, one on each side, and set at 90 degrees to each other- this shrinks the image as any concave lens would do. Pixelation is achieved by constructing the curves out of 16 long skinny facets across the 36 mm width, producing the 16-bit resolution effect. My color lithophane of a famous physicist serves as my first object to pixelate.
Wikipedia hasgreat info about Mathematicaand where to see it.
Charles and Ray Eames made a coulpe famous videos still worth a watch:
YouTube: Top (1969) basically a 7 minute physics toy video- spinning top toysset to a jazz sountrack
YouTube: Powers of !0 perhasp the best science video ever made!
ThePoincare Diskis a representation of non-Euclidean gemometry andtesselations can look amazing- M.C. Escher used this math for his famousCircle Limit woodcut.
Mathematica Eames Spin Top: a physics toy piece of history from the 1961 exhibit of “Mathematica: A World of Numbers and Beyond” by the famous design team of Charles and Ray Eames. The top of this top features a tessellation of the hyperbolic plane- a Poincaré Disk- with triangles (amazing math art before the age of computer graphics), and on the bottom is the title of the exhibit and the famous Eames logo. Note that when this top ends rotation it remains in a delicate balanced state on its tip- hard to do without spinning it! The exhibits from the 1961 Mathematica exhibition still exist and can be seen at museums in Boston, Atlanta, and Dearborn.
Get nice samples here:
From Etsy: BUY NOW: Tiger Iron Samples
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Chatoyancy in Tiger Iron: impurities of rutile (often titanium dioxide) form parallel fibrous crystalline structures within quartz that reflect light in luminous bands that appear to move as the specimen is rotated. This specimen is a piece of rough tigers eye, and even in an unpolished form the gemstone shows strong chatoyancy.
Get this version here:
From Hypnotiq: BUY NOW: Hypnopiston
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Kinetic Cam Illusion: a stack of spinning offset disks is oddly satisfying to watch as the brain tries to make sense of the motion. Very smooth bearings provide long spin times. This version is sold under the name “Hypnopiston” by Hypnotiq fidgets.
This replica seems based on my model I created back in 2019 and posted here: Tesla's Egg
I'm flattered that a company would produce this- pretty well made:
From Nikola Toy: BUY NOW: Wooden Replica Tesla's Egg
Here is a modern version with glass top:
From Amazon: BUY NOW: Tesla's Egg demo
I reccomened a separate purchase to get this nicer "egg", PhiTOPs are available in Aluminum andBrass:
From Etsy:BUY NOWPhiTOP in Brass
From EI:BUY NOWPhiTOP in Aluminum
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Click here for more on the PhiTOP and using magnetic induction to spin it up.
Tesla’s Egg of Columbus: an aluminum ellipsoid egg (PhiTOP) mysteriously spins and stands upright in this modern version of Tesla’s famous demonstration from the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago that first showcased the principles behind wireless power transfer and his AC induction motor. Rotating magnetic fields from under the wooden platform induce electric eddy currents to flow in the conducting PhiTOP- these currents then create their own magnetic field which oppose the initial fields underneath and pushes the PhiTOP to spin. This version featured here differs from Tesla’s in that the rotating magnetic fields are created by, well, a pair of rotating neodymium magnets (revealed by lifting the top platform in this model). Credit to astrophysicist Kenneth Brecher, the creator of the PhiTOP, and this unique means of using a common lab magnetic stirrer to create the induced currents. Finally, the ellipsoid top stands up vertically (when spun with sufficient rotational velocity) due to physics similar to that of the tippe-top.
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