Dumb (but cool!) physics toys
-
For some reason my high school physics kids were fascinated by this toy.
-
Have you ever done the non-Newtonian fluid on a speaker trick? One of these days I will get a cheap pair of the right sort of speakers and ruin them with that
-
@jaloopa Nah, I don't have the time (or the resources). I found this thing in the stockroom and we're talking about mirrors, so...
-
I used to have one of those. I remember a friend seeing it and not knowing what it was, and then he took three swipes at the pig to pick it up for a closer look. The look on his face when he couldn't touch it was priceless.
-
@mott555 Yeah. I get the best
faces from kids with that one.My other favorite (no video) is a bike wheel attached to some handles with a rope. Get it spinning and you can hold it by the rope (attached on one side only) and it will stay vertical due to conservation of angular momentum.
-
@benjamin-hall said in Dumb (but cool!) physics toys:
@mott555 Yeah. I get the best
faces from kids with that one.My other favorite (no video) is a bike wheel attached to some handles with a rope. Get it spinning and you can hold it by the rope (attached on one side only) and it will stay vertical due to conservation of angular momentum.
I like this variation:
Spinning Wheel on Spinning Chair – 01:30
— utexascnsquest
-
@mzh - Need more angular momentum - get the chair really counter spinning
-
@thecpuwizard
is a pain to clean up in a classroom 
-
@benjamin-hall said in Dumb (but cool!) physics toys:
@thecpuwizard
is a pain to clean up in a classroom That's what students are for!
-
@thecpuwizard said in Dumb (but cool!) physics toys:
@mzh - Need more angular momentum - get the chair really counter spinning
- Add an air compressor-powered turbine to the axle.
- ???
ProfitVomit
-
@mott555 said in Dumb (but cool!) physics toys:
@benjamin-hall said in Dumb (but cool!) physics toys:
@thecpuwizard
is a pain to clean up in a classroom That's what students are for!
I'm at a private school. The parents (who pay my salary) might complain a bit. I do call myself "Dr Evil" though...mainly to deter them from realizing that I'm a push-over.
-
I have a Stirling Engine that will sit nicely on a coffee cup and turn the gentle heat of the steam coming off my morning drink into circular motion. That's pretty neat.
-
@dkf said in Dumb (but cool!) physics toys:
I have a Stirling Engine that will sit nicely on a coffee cup and turn the gentle heat of the steam coming off my morning drink into circular motion. That's pretty neat.
Once I get my 3D printer fixed again, I want to start designing a little single-stage steam turbine that runs on boiling isopropyl alcohol. (Alcohol because it boils at a lower temperature than water so the engine is less likely to melt in operation.) If that ever actually happens I'll make sure to post a video or something around here.
-
@mott555 said in Dumb (but cool!) physics toys:
I want to start designing a little single-stage steam turbine
As in an Aeolipile, or something different?
-
@masonwheeler said in Dumb (but cool!) physics toys:
@mott555 said in Dumb (but cool!) physics toys:
I want to start designing a little single-stage steam turbine
As in an Aeolipile, or something different?
No, something more modern. Like the turbine stage in a turbocharger, although an Aeolipile would probably be a much simpler starting point for a project like this.
I was even thinking of eventually adding an Arduino controller that can somehow manage throttle, display RPM and boiler temperature and exhaust gas temperature, and have it powered by a small DC generator hooked up to the engine itself. But my visions usually outpace my motivation so I'm sure that'll never happen.
-
-
@benjamin-hall hah, my prof showed us that when we were learning about reflection and refraction formulas. Gave us a pretty good idea of the different kinds of images.
-
@lb_ It's the best depiction of a real image I've seen. My college had a bigger one (using a single mirror), but it only worked if you stood in the right place and was only ehh.
Another cool thing is to put a single drop of water on the bottom mirror (instead of the pig)--it looks like it's hanging from the surface and looks really weird.
-
@benjamin-hall Well now you gotta get a pic or vid of that.
-
@benjamin-hall said in Dumb (but cool!) physics toys:
@mott555 Yeah. I get the best
faces from kids with that one.My other favorite (no video) is a bike wheel attached to some handles with a rope. Get it spinning and you can hold it by the rope (attached on one side only) and it will stay vertical due to conservation of angular momentum.
The advanced version involves hiding the spinning wheel inside a briefcase. It makes for some
moments because you can't see the wheel and the case handles very weirdly when you try to pick it up.That's what our Physics prof did to us in his lectures.
-
@coderpatsy Here you go. If you notice, the curvature of the drop is the wrong way.
And google photos botched the scrolling.
-
@rhywden said in Dumb (but cool!) physics toys:
case handles very weirdly when you try to pick it up.
Like handling an orbital sander. It just feels wrong and broken if you move it in certain ways.
-
@mott555 said in Dumb (but cool!) physics toys:
@rhywden said in Dumb (but cool!) physics toys:
case handles very weirdly when you try to pick it up.
Like handling an orbital sander. It just feels wrong and broken if you move it in certain ways.
But very fun!
-
@jaloopa said in Dumb (but cool!) physics toys:
Have you ever done the non-Newtonian fluid on a speaker trick?
You don't need to bother with the speaker.
It is more fun to make a lot of it (potato starch + water) and play with it with your hands / try to hold it or hit it.
-
@adynathos I always have a bit of a play when making custard, but there's only so much you can do just in a bowl. I've seen some pretty cool videos of speakers making patterns from them
-
@rhywden said in Dumb (but cool!) physics toys:
@benjamin-hall said in Dumb (but cool!) physics toys:
@mott555 Yeah. I get the best
faces from kids with that one.My other favorite (no video) is a bike wheel attached to some handles with a rope. Get it spinning and you can hold it by the rope (attached on one side only) and it will stay vertical due to conservation of angular momentum.
The advanced version involves hiding the spinning wheel inside a briefcase. It makes for some
moments because you can't see the wheel and the case handles very weirdly when you try to pick it up.That's what our Physics prof did to us in his lectures.
All sorts of fun with "Gyro in a Box" ae possible [ahhh, memories of high school so long ago...]
New video by Benjamin Hall
