kinetic Art

Tetrahedron Specular Hologram

Get this hologram brass spin top here:

From Etsy: BUY NOW: Tetrahedron Hologram Top

See other: specular holograms in my collection

Learn more about (and how to make) specular holograms via this video by Steve Mould

Tetrahedron Specular Hologram: complex 3D images of rotating tetrahedrons arise from a surprisingly simple pattern of engraved circles. This brass disk has been machined with set of evenly spaced circles where the center of each circle falls on a triangle. The etched circular grooves reflect a point source of light as glints, and each eye sees a slightly different pattern such that, via stereopsis, the shiny points appear to float above or below the surface. Two tetrahedrons appear for each point light source used. 

Rainbow Twirler

Get one here: 

From Amazon: BUY NOW: Rainbow Twirler

Rainbow Twirler: shaped by angular momentum and centripetal acceleration- when the speed of the ribbon is faster than the flicker fusion frequency of human vision it looks like a bubble. As the rotation speed increases the shape flattens- similar to the way the Earth bulges due to its rotation. Found this fun motorized base for this item in a toy store last week.


Tornado Spheres

Just one of the amazing physics toys that will come in the next Curiosity Box, a great way to build you own collection! 

Get (or give!) a Curiosity Box subscription here: JOIN NOW: The Curiosity Box

 

Tornado Spheres: two ball bearings welded together can be made to spin up to 2000+ rpm by the Magnus Effect using a stream of air. Shining three colored LEDs on the spinning pair produces an illusion of floating rings along with a second illusion that these rings are rotating and changing direction due to aliasing with the frame rate of the video camera (like the famous wagon-wheel effect).

Resin Art Kalliroscope

Get one here-- many colors and shapes to choose from:

From Etsy OpalFlowCrafts: BUY NOW: Resin Art Kalliroscope

Resin Art Kalliroscope: visualizing fluid flow— a slight tilt of the hand speeds the bubble through the rheoscopic fluid producing a wake of turbulence made visible by the tiny flake crystals of mica catching the light. This fidget version of the kalliroscope is constructed of artistically colored and poured resin and includes a small magnet that can also be manipulated from below.

Undial Sundial

Available here (make sure to get the correct version for your latitude):
From Art of Play: BUY NOW: Undial Sundial

Undial Sundial: modern design of an ancient timekeeping device where a slanted stick (the gnomon) casts a shadow to indicate the time (this one designed for 30-40 degrees latitude). This novel design has no dial underneath, instead the hours are laser etched into clear acrylic such that the time appears projected within the cast shadow. 10 AM to 3:00 PM of a sunny day in Fresno are shown here in time-lapse. Note the movement of the shadow cast by the sun as the Earth turns underneath during this five hour period. Perfect for a windowsill that gets noonday sun!


CMY Color Cube

Get this cube here:
from Amazon: BUY NOW: CMY Cube

get the display stand here:
from Amazon: BUY NOW: Caliper Display
from Etsy: BUY NOW: Caliper Display

CMY Color Cube: physics and psychophysics of color perception demonstrated with this acrylic art object. Thin films cover parallel sides of the transparent cube in cyan, magenta, and yellow which comprise the elements of the CMY subtractive color model- viewing the cube through various angles allows exploration of multiple and interesting combinations of the CMY elements.
See also: the CMYK model and colorspace on Wikipedia. 

Rhythmic Ferrofluid

Get this affordable ferrofluid device here:

From Etsy: BUY NOW: Iridescent Ferrofluid  (include "rhythm machine"

Rhythmic Ferrofluid: an iridescent magnetic fluid interacts with a variable strength electromagnet (like those found in speakers). A circuit supplies power to the electromagnet in proportion to the sound waves picked up by a microphone, the changing magnetic field- combined with the liquid surface tension of the colloidal ferromagnetic liquid- produces the captivating motion that keeps time with any music played. 

Balance Stacking Sculpture

Another wonderful desing by BinDesign- get one here in black or natural wood:

From Etsy: BUY NOW: Bin Design Balancer Puzzle

Balance Stacking Sculpture: a series of torques in unstable equilibrium complete this Calder-esque structure. As each component is added its weighted end balances all the others before it, with the initial small piece weighing about a gram or so. Remove the end piece and the whole structure comes down. Another wonderful design by artist Bin Xu.


Glow Trace Chaotic Pendulum Kit

This kit (usually part of a subscription) often available here:
From eBay: BUY NOW: Glow Pendulum Kit

Get amazing quatilty science kits delievered to your home- this glow pendulum is part of the Tinker Crate subscription. 
From KiwiCo: LEARN MORE: Tinker Crate Subscription

Glow Trace Chaotic Pendulum: this fun and amazing DIY kit features a UV diode to trace the intricate path of this double pendulum system on to a phosphorescent screen, revealing the physics of chaotic motion. It’s amazing that such complex motion can arise from a simple assembly of two pendulums, one attached to the end of the other. Chaotic motion, such as that observed here, is characterized by extreme sensitivity to initial starting conditions, tiny differences in how the system is released leads to dramatically different outcomes each time.