So This Is How Cobb Spun His Top in Inception
June 4th, 2011
If you’ve seen the movie Inception, then you probably already know about his spinning top. If you haven’t, then I’m not about to go spoil the movie for you.
However, I am going to talk about that top he keeps on spinning. I’ve spun my share of tops back in the day but I can never manage to keep it going for more than a minute. Maybe I was just bad at it or maybe all I needed was the Magnetic Powered Spinning Top.
So what makes it spin? It’s not by the initial mechanical energy that you impart onto the top by giving it the first spin. Rather, it makes use of the concept of magnetism. The top actually comes with a radially oriented magnetic field while there’s a conductive coil hidden inside the base that comes with it. When the spinning top passes by the center part of the base, its magnetic field causes a current to be induced in the coil, opening up the battery switch, and passing through a jolt of power from the electromagnet to keep the top spinning.
Really, this is probably how Cobb did it. If you want to work that same magic that he did with the top, then you can get the Magnetic Powered Spinning Top from ThinkGeek for the dreamy low price of $9.99 (USD).
[via Coolest Gadgets]
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