The Way Toys Work: The Science Behind the Magic 8 Ball, Etch A Sketch, Boomerang, and More
Ed Sobey
Language: English
Pages: 178
ISBN: 1556527454
Format: PDF / Kindle (mobi) / ePub
A Selection of the Scientific American Book Club
Profiling 50 of the world’s most popular playthings—including their history, trivia, and the technology involved—this guide uncovers the hidden science of toys. Discover how an Etch A Sketch writes on its gray screen, why a boomerang returns after it is thrown, and how an RC car responds to a remote control device. Leaving no detail unrevealed, the guide includes original patent-application blueprints and photos of the “guts” of several devices. Inventors and museum curators also offer their observations of favorite gizmos while dispelling (or confirming) several toy legends. Complete with explanations of do-it-yourself experiments and tips on reverse engineering old toys to observe their interior mechanics, this entertaining and informative reference even provides pointers on how budding toy makers can build their own toys using only recycled materials and a little ingenuity.
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strength with boomerangs (it’s much easier to practice your throwing when you don’t have to walk across the field to retrieve your stick) and that later in life they used throwing sticks (that did not return) in battle and hunting. 24 6/11/08 9:06 AM Page 25 Boomerang Á 02 (001-178) body 25 How Boomerangs Work The ability to spin and an asymmetric shape are essential for a boomerang. The thrower holds the boomerang vertically by one end and spins it as he or she throws it. The
Operation, contact between the tweezers and the conducting plate completes the electrical circuit. Once the electrons flow, they power the light and the buzzer or vibrator. The vibrator is a small electric motor that spins an off-center weight. Like a tire that isn’t balanced properly, the off-center weight spins around and causes everything attached to the motor to vibrate. 6/11/08 9:08 AM Page 93 Operation Á 02 (001-178) body 93 Inside Operation Flipping the board upside down reveals
screwdriver. The edge of the deck is folded around the lip of the hull, so you want to loosen the edge. With just a little effort, the deck will fly off. Be careful where you point the screwdriver while prying, because it will likely continue in that direction if you slip. Inside the boat you’ll find the boiler and two tubes leading to it. That’s all. We don’t recommend opening the boiler—there isn’t anything to see, and you will have difficulty getting it back on and sealed properly. Below the
walking. With every step you take, you’ll have to pull up on a pole to raise the stilt off the ground. As you get better at this, you can raise the foot braces higher. If you get good and feel confident on the stilts, add some Velcro straps to the foot braces and poles to strap your legs in. Then you won’t have to hold the stilts and your hands will be free for other things, such as juggling. If you are skilled in metalworking, you might try making your own jumping stilts. Study a pair of
likely to go flying over the handlebars if he or she hit anything. After incurring many injuries on the penny-farthing, Starley’s nephew, John Kemp Starley, invented a less dangerous model, the safety bike. It would remain the standard bike design until the 1980s, when mountain bikes became popular. The safety bike had a diamond-shaped frame with two wheels of the same size and a chain drive from the pedals to the back wheel. With the addition of John Boyd Dunlop’s pneumatic tire, not only were
