Optics

Physics

Wave optics

"Delta Phi"

Optical phenomenon: caustics. The surface of this object resembles that of moving water. Illuminated from above, it reflects incoming light rays in various…

3D-Shadows

Shadows gain depth. Illuminated with red and green light, a tetrahedron casts a red and a green shadow on the screen. Viewed through glasses with red and…

847 Compass needles

Magnetic Domains. There are 847 compass needles attached to a disc. Because they are so close together, they influence each other. With a magnet, the compass…

A Slice of Turbulence

by Ned Kahn If the crest of the wave collapsed over the surfer off Hawaii and he could bring home a slice of salami from it, he would have the original to the…

Additive Color Mixing

Mixing light colors. Play with red, green, and blue light, and with their brightness. When overlapped and adjusted optimally, red, green, and blue produce…

Adhesive Air

Coandă Effect: How shape, position, and surface influence airflow. The Coandă effect occurs when fluid or gas jets deviate from their original flow direction…

Aeolian Landscape

«Aeolian Landscapes» Wind shapes the landscape, just like water and ice do. As the wind sweeps over the sand surface, dune-like ripples form. When their…

Air Bubbles

Like dolphins: forming rings that rise. By pumping air into the glass tube filled with water, air bubbles rise. They ascend vertically. Often in a straight…

Air cushion

Inventive talent is called for here! Use scissors and tape to build objects out of paper that float on the wide air cushion. While testing and optimising, you…

Air lift

The vacuum makes the difference. When the ball moves up the tube, the airflow is directed in such a way that a vacuum is created. How must it be directed for…

All Triangels are the same

Central projection: Using various triangular shapes to cast congruent shadows onto a patterned wall with equilateral triangles.

Angled Mirrors

Many polygons. Two mirrors positioned around an axis at various angles: a simple way to create shapes with many sides (polygons). At certain angles,…

Anti Gravity Mirror

Half a person becomes whole. Reflect the right half of the body, and there you have it: a complete person. It’s fascinating to watch them move. Can you manage…

Ascending magma

«Intrusion» Volcano in cross-section: This is what happens beneath its vent. What looks like magma is actually air-blown glass particles. They behave like a…

Aural Organ

Capturing sounds. Which sound fits into which pipe? This organ does not make the music itself. It captures sound from its surroundings. Put your ear to the…

Aural Organ

Frequencies vary. It is not the pipe that makes these sounds, it picks them up from the surroundings. Listen to the pipe, what do you hear? And what do you…

Aurora

A different kind of reflection. Colored filters in a mirror: why don’t we simply see their exact image? The surface of the mirror is rough. Restless,…

Bagatelle Board

Xylophone track. Line up individual notes to form a song: Place xylophone blocks on the slope and let the ball roll. How do you arrange them so that their…

Ball in a Bowl

Shorter path = faster to the goal? A question that occupied the best mathematicians three hundred years ago. This competition compares two parallel tracks,…

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…

Ball on water-beam

Drawn to the jet. Table tennis balls float on a water fountain: how is that possible? The ball doesn’t stay exactly in the center of the jet. It rotates…

Banana

If you place a blue filter exactly on the yellow banana, the banana appears green - logical, isn't it? A larger blue filter that also covers the white…

Beam Bridge

The simplest form, but not the most stable. This bridge demonstrates the forces acting on a straight beam when it is loaded and supported only at its two…

Beats

Tuning instruments to each other. If two different tones are played at the same time, we hear a mixed tone. If its two tones differ only slightly, its volume…