Hand-Cranked Magnet Machine Has No Purpose But to Entertain

Dave Johnson's Magnet Machine is a gadget designed to do nothing practical at all, except to be awesome. Crank the handle of his wood and aluminum construction and it draws a chain of magnetic balls through the machine, slicing them off one at a time and sending them tumbling and hurtling along a series of levers, arms and tubes before they rejoin the flock at the other end.

The video is hypnotic. You should keep watching at least until you get a peek inside the guts of the machine. I won't spoil the surprise, but I will say that when doctors cut open the stomach of the first self-replicating robot they might find that its automated intestines look somewhat similar.

There is some science involved, too. Here's what David has to say about it:

It also demonstrates a little snippet of science called eddy currents. Watch how slowly the magnet falls through the aluminum tube compared to falling through air: the falling magnet generates an electrical current in the tube, and that current in turn generates a magnetic field that opposes the movement of the magnet, slowing it down dramatically.

I could play with this thing all day. Especially if I was on a deadline.

A Magnet Machine [YouTube via Core77]

See Also:

• Gallery: Outrageously Complicated Rube Goldberg Videos
• How OK Go's Amazing Rube Goldberg Machine Was Built
• Magnetic Rube Goldberg Machine For Your Fridge
• Heath Robinson