exploratorium

Exhibits

PHENOMENA

Torque

Chaotic Pendulum

When you set these pendulums swinging, the motion of each one affects the others.

Where:   Crossroads: Getting Started
Downhill Race

Believe it or not, when objects roll downhill, it’s not their weight or size that determines their speed—it’s how their weight is distributed.

Where:   Crossroads: Getting Started
Magnet + Electricity = Motor

All motors operate for the same basic reason: When electricity flows through a wire and a magnet is nearby, the magnet exerts a force on the wire. Without either the magnet or the electricity, there is no "push" to make the motor turn. Turning the magnet over--reversing its magnetic field--reverses the "push" and causes an opposite rotation.

Where:   This exhibit is not currently on view.
Vortex

A twist of a knob sets water jets in motion, causing water in this giant cylindrical tank to spin. Soon, a tiny vortex appears at the surface, gradually swelling in size as it snakes downward.

Where:   Fisher Bay Observatory Gallery 6, Mezzanine