Magic Makers The Rattleback, Physics Toy, Real Metal Alloy Collector's Edition

Rattlebacks are really neat oddities, with their seeming disregard for (near-)symmetry and angular momentum. They're not hard to find in plastic, and those are cool to have around, to be sure, but surprisingly hard to find ones in metal, for that heavy, satisfying feel. Makes for a much more dignified desk toy or living-room hutch knickknack. This one is the "usual" size and shape (whatever that is), does its job of spinning and not-spinning and unspinning very well. I don't know what it's made of; the description says "Metal Alloy" so I assume it's not aluminum or something. I can say that it is _not_ magnetic, which I consider a good thing (so you can experiment with sapping its momentum while spinning with eddy currents.)

It's tempting to call the Rattleback a toy, but it's so much more than that. I got one a couple years ago, but someone else wanted it. So I treated myself to the Collector's Edition metal alloy version. And I also got the bag of 10 plastic ones, to give away. I can't wait until my grandson is old enough to appreciate it. Initially there had been a packaging error; Magic Makers more than made up for it. I'm quite pleased. Five stars!

Does exactly what it says. Spin it one direction, it keeps spinning. Spin it the other, and it stops, wobbles for a second, and makes a half to three quarter turn the other direction and stops. Gave it to my MIT scientist spouse, and she said it was obvious that the bottom was slightly asymmetric, but said it would take too long to explain the math to me.

This will keep you entertained for hours. Works great. Kids play with it, husband plays with it, guest see it and wonder what it is and play with it.

This trick is a solid piece of steel and is worth the extra money. The weight of the metal presents well and enables it to spin for a long time on a flat surface. Its secret is in slightly shifting the center of the weight on one side of the piece versus the other. It is almost imperceptible and is not noticeable when handed to audience members for a "look and feel" beforehand. Spin it counter-clockwise and it spins great. Spin it clockwise and it shakes, stops, then starts spinning counter-clockwise. It's a realistic and dramatic motion that can be easily exploited. Lastly, a warning: if you are someone who can really make objects move, DO NOT purchase this product. It will completely destroy your credibility if people one day find out this is a trick.

Good Quality!

Didn’t work and it was a gift. Very sad.

Solid, heavy, and well made. There are others here on Amazon that are made of plastic (and are quite a bit cheaper) and though I haven't purchased any of them, given how this thing works I doubt something lightweight would work as well. This one is solid metal with some heft to it and it's easy to get it to do its thing. I bought it to show my two school-age kids and they were wowed by it. Not cheap, but you get what you pay for. Shipping was quick.