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Angebot nach Ausstellung

Mechanicum



With some people, we're totally on the same wavelength, and some things just swing into place. In football, we're all fascinated by that decisive goal, scored with just the right amount of spin. It all goes to show: mechanics and physics are everywhere!

In this area of the exhibition, concepts such as wavelength, resonance, momentum and spin literally become tangible. Hands-on involvement and active engagement with phenomena allow you to see connections here – and in everyday life.

The Pendulum Cradle is an eye-catcher: one ball collides with several middle ones before the ball right at the back is knocked outward by the same distance. Another particularly enjoyable exhibit is the Rodeo Gyroscope: take a ride and you'll feel the effect of physics on your whole body!

At the Turntable, you can play together to try to get as many balls and discs as possible to turn on the plate. Or you can compete against each other in a game of billiards with a twist.

Art lovers will find the Harmonograph in the Mechanics section: this device uses two differently adjusted pendulums to create fascinating drawings. Each work of art is unique!
Exhibit-Links
10239 1

Ball in a Bowl

Particle accelerator. Hula hoop meets spinning coins: balls orbit inside the sphere. Circular movements propel the two balls onto their orbits within the…

10459 1

Bicycle Wheel Gyroscope

Speed and Balance. Not so easy: Riding a bike slowly while maintaining balance. Much easier: Pedaling fast and staying steady. But why? Quickly spinning…

11474 Illustration alt

Blind Juggler

The Blind Juggler can juggle up to four balls at the same time without any sensors.

10207 1

Bouncing (Steel) Ball

Ping-ping, not ping-pong. When a ping-pong ball drops onto the table, its sound is unmistakable. A tapping noise that grows quicker and quicker. This happens…

10060 1

Coriolis Fountain

Water with a surprising twist. If we spin around while holding the garden hose, the water jet seems to "bend." The jet follows the hose. The jet follows the…

10312 1

Counter-Balanced Pendulum

This is how a pendulum swings on the Moon. We cannot change Earth’s gravity. But we can simulate a change in gravitational force by adjusting a movable weight…

10149 1

Coupled pendulums

Transferring energy. Two identical pendulums, connected by a helical spring. When one pendulum is set in motion, its energy transfers. Soon, the previously…

10148 1

Coupled Rotary Pendulums

Twisted oscillation. Two horizontally stacked rods with weights are connected by a steel strip. If one rod is displaced, it begins to oscillate. Soon, it…

10229 1

Crushing Mill

Rolling in rotation. Three brass wheels rotate in a circle, like on a carousel. As they spin around their shared vertical axis, they are pulled toward the…

10083 1

Double Gyroscope

Spin = angular momentum or torque. The angular momentum of a top moves – whether spun forward or backward – in the direction of the axis of rotation. How does…

10145 1

Fading Motion

The curve loses momentum. Sand flows from the pendulum onto a moving green belt. The sand writes curve after curve. Their radius becomes tighter and tighter.…

10166 Gravitationsmodell oder Der Potetialtopf Haupt

Gravitational model or Energy Well

The potential well. Orbiting the gravitational center: once launched, the ball takes wide rounds. For minutes, it gradually accelerates. Its circles become…

Kreiselkoffer Standardbild

Gyroscope in a Suitcase

A stubborn companion. Quite heavy, this suitcase. And somehow, it seems to resist the journey. It bucks, pulls to the other side. It swerves, tips upward, as…

10178 1

Harmonograph

Each drawing is a unique masterpiece. With precision and stability, this arm guides the pen across the paper. Held by magnets on a slowly rotating holder, the…

10218 Haupt

Inverted Double Pendulum

Balancing with two rods. Balancing one rod on a fingertip: that’s something we can imagine doing. But with two rods connected by a joint, the task becomes…

10453 Haupt

Inverted Foucault Pendulum

From this point of view … North Pole, Winterthur, Equator: The inclination of the tube containing a thin oscillating rod can be adjusted. Additionally, the…

10314 1

Jupiter Pendulum

Moon: sluggish. Jupiter: frantic. The stronger the gravity, the faster pendulums swing. Their oscillation period does not depend on their mass but on the…

11417 00 Klankkaatser Illu

Klankkaatser

Hello world? Shaped like a light bulb, resembling a spacecraft capsule: welcome to the Klankkaatser! Is anyone there? The sound waves don’t drift into space;…

10081 1

Lissajous Double Spring

Vibration as a still image. Lissajous figures are the intertwined curves, like those shown by the LED at the end of the spring. Small works of art created by…

10259 1

Lissajous Rods

Harmonic oscillation patterns. The six metal rods are shaped to oscillate at different speeds depending on the direction. A metal rod with a width-to-depth…

10260 1

Lissajous Sounds

What sounds good also looks good. Two small mirrors oscillate at the same frequency as their respective speakers. The frequency of one mirror (and its…

10280 Haupt

Maxwell’s Wheel

A giant yo-yo. Pretty big and quite heavy, this flywheel. As it spins, the textile band wraps around its hub. The band shortens and pulls the wheel…

10087 1

Momentum Machine

Pirouette – an elegant trick. Sometimes fast, sometimes slow, and then breathtakingly fast again – and all these variations in a fluid movement. How do…

11625 1

Moving Objects

Rings, rings, rings in a row. Hundreds of small rubber rings move along horizontally stretched strings. Seemingly at random, from right to left – and back…

10305 Oszylinderscope Illu

Oscylinderscope (Wave Watch)

Flipbook for vibrating strings. Turn the black drum with white cross stripes and pluck the strings: their vibrations appear as waves, in a magical way. The…

10409 1

Pegboard Pendulum

Carrying momentum. With a rod fixed in the wall, the long pendulum becomes a short one, starting from the point where the long pendulum wraps around the…

10309 1

Pendulum Cradle (Click-Clack)

Pendulum like Newton. One ball hits the row – one ball bounces away. Two balls hit the row: how many will bounce away now? Here’s a clue: The momentum of an…

Pendel mit variabler Fadenlänge Standardbild

Pendulum of Variable Length

The length of the thread of this pendulum can be changed at will via a crank. This has a huge influence on the period of oscillation of a pendulum (i.e. how…

10310 1

Pendulum Wave

Chaos in perfect alignment. Eleven pendulums of different lengths. Once released, they swing in disarray. And yet, every ten seconds, they return to perfect…

10308 1

Pendulums of Varying Weights

Experiment like Galileo. Does a heavy pendulum swing faster than a light one? An exciting comparison! With a weight in its center, a pendulum certainly…

10321 1

Phased Pendulum

Up and down becomes back and forth! Set the pendulum swinging without touching it. Just pull the rope, please. This way, the pendulum is indirectly set in…

10347 1

RadiMax (MaxiWheel)

Infinity Top. Moment of inertia, angular momentum, and precession – a delightful interplay. Playing with the RadiMax requires some skill. On the wire-mesh…

10354 1

Resonant Pendulum

260 kilos in motion, effortlessly. It’s quite heavy, this steel block on a rope. Yet, a small magnet is enough to set it swinging! Finesse beats force:…

10356 Ringe in Resonanz Haupt

Resonant Rings

Vibrations based on frequency. Six spring-steel rings oscillate in response to the speaker’s frequency. If it matches the natural frequency of a ring, the…

10407 1

Resonant Rods

Wildly swinging rods… Two metal rods rise vertically from a wobbling table. They are of different lengths. The vibrational energy of the table transfers to…

11555 1

Rodeo Gyroscope

Rock, rock, oh wow! Take a seat, the flywheel spins. The seat lowers – affecting the axis of this gyroscope. The gyroscope reacts to this change. It tilts…

10388 Seilschleuder Haupt

Rope Squirter

Indian Rope Trick? The loop stands firm. Guided through two rollers, the rope is driven upward by an electric motor. Surprisingly stable, the loop holds in…

10088 1

Rotating Chair with Bicycle Wheel Gyroscope

Turning left: pull the handlebars to the right. When initiating a left turn on the bicycle, we pull the handlebars slightly to the right. At a certain speed,…

10089 Drehstuhl mit elektrischem Doppelkreisel Haupt

Rotating Chair with electric double Gyroscope

Disk in motion. Chair with spin. The station drives the two disks of the double gyroscope. If both rotate in the same direction, the rotating chair…

10232 1

Spindrift

Rolling, spinning, wobbling, tilting. In the flat, slightly curved bowl, the discs don’t simply roll away – they always come back. How long do they spin…

10373 1

Swinging Drawing Board

Just let it draw. The drawing board swings, deliberately. Suspended by four cords, a single push is enough to create a work of art. Drawn as if by magic. The…

11049 1

Switch-over Pendulum

Mathematical and Physical Pendulums. Here, you can switch between the two pendulums: If the disk at the center of the pendulum rod can rotate freely, it does…

10246 Lassokette Haupt

Travelling Chain

«Travelling Chain» A fleeting, playful touch of the moving bicycle chain – and it performs surprising twists or gentle, artistically elegant wave motions. by…

10093 1

Triple-period pendulum

A tricky challenge. Situation: Three pendulums with strings of different lengths but identical swinging masses. Various weights are available to attach to the…

10091 1

Turntable

Rolling in place. Balls and rings on a table. On top, a rotating disc – with countless ways to play. Rings wobble, fast-rolling billiard balls stay in…

10534 1

Two Wheels and a Ball

Opposing Circular Motions. In the middle: a ball. On its sides: two wheels. How does the ball move when both discs spin at the same speed? And how does it…

10287 1

Vertical Mobiles (Chaotic Pendulums)

Chaotic pendulums. Length and amplitude: the behavior of a simple pendulum can be precisely described. No randomness involved. Add another pendulum, then one…

10411 1

Vibrating String

Nodes, loops, nodes, loops. The spring steel plate at the end of the string oscillates a hundred times per second. Lateral movements depend on how strongly we…

10129 1

Waves in springs (Big Slinky)

Transverse wave, longitudinal wave, standing wave. A light push forward, and the twelve-meter-long spring wave moves. At its end, it bounces back and returns.…

thema-Links

Mechanics

Physics

more to browse
11967 Phänomen

Current and magnets

You are electromagnetic From dancing magnets to currents in your own body: experience electromagnetism up close.

10124 Haupt

Light and sight

Learn how light brings the world alive for us.

10210 Phänomen II

Water, nature, chaos

Experience the beauty of nature from its most fascinating and phenomenal side.