Gaussian Gun

Check out this cool toy. It is really very simple, which is why I like it! A plastic or wooden channel supports a row of four ball bearings, and a pair of neodymium magnets at the end of the row hold all the ball bearings together magnetically.

Very slowly, you roll the loose ball bearing towards the magnets. As it approaches the magnets, it and the magnets are pulled together sharply, since these are very strong magnets. And because of that the ball bearing at the other end shoots off at a surprisingly high velocity.

Watch the video below;




Here are a couple of books that you can buy to learn about this and other neat gadgets.