Defy Gravity with The Swami

Posted by Alex in Arts & Crafts, Pictures on May 9, 2009 at 2:09 pm


From Modern Mechanix, one of my favorite blogs, here’s the Swami, a simple pattern you can cut out on a piece of plywood that will let you defy gravity!

As mystifying as the Indian rope trick, this magic marvel defies the laws of gravity.

PROBABLY Isaac Newton was right; but you couldn’t prove it with this gadget. It just seems to work contrary to all laws of gravity.

Swami, by itself, reacts like any other object: supported at one end only—it falls. But, add a fairly heavy belt, as shown in the photo, and it will not only stay up but actually take quite a bit of extra pressure to make it tilt down, even slightly.

We won’t tell you how or why it works. That is part of the mystery. Go ahead and make one and try to find out for yourself. You’ll be truly amazed.

This is SO going to my ever growing list of "to-do one day" projects: Link


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COMMENT

15 comments to "Defy Gravity with The Swami"

  1. Danny
    May 9th, 2009 at 2:20 pm

    it reminds me of this bar trick that works under the same principle. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3qMA3vVTpI

    So my guess would be that the curve in the shape above where the belt rests makes the belt lean towards you which puts the center of balance back at the tip of the swami where you hold it at. Very neat trick

  2. Danny
    May 9th, 2009 at 2:23 pm

    Aaaand it just reminded me of a balancing bird toy I used to play with all the time as a kid that also works somewhat the same way, but the bird also relys on a weight to help balance http://demoroom.physics.ncsu.edu/html/demos/533.html

  3. Keith Peters
    May 9th, 2009 at 2:39 pm

    Hehe, we made those in wood shop class in middle school. :)

  4. Winchell Chung
    May 9th, 2009 at 3:24 pm

    In a "how to be a stage magician" book, I saw a way to make this out of corrugated cardboard. You glued together two small rectangles of cardboard, then you cut the angled slot, just like the Swami plan.

  5. Vonskippy
    May 9th, 2009 at 4:01 pm

    Sad that public education is so sucky that this "trick" amazes all the sheeple.

  6. ted
    May 9th, 2009 at 4:44 pm

    I made one of those in shop class, only without the swami picture.

  7. Miss Cellania
    May 9th, 2009 at 5:30 pm

    It's the same principle as "two forks, one cup", right?

    http://www.neatorama.com/2007/12/12/two-forks-one-cup/

  8. Wesley
    May 9th, 2009 at 5:35 pm

    Vonskippy puts into words what I'm thinking.

    Shifting an object's center of gravity is not all that amazing.

  9. tmayton
    May 9th, 2009 at 5:48 pm

    True about the education bit. One look at it gives it away. Just notice the radius beween the cg and that balancing point.

  10. Chakolate
    May 9th, 2009 at 6:32 pm

    You can also do this with a large paper clip. Just bend it to look like the top of the outline above, and put the belt into the groove.

    It does cut into your finger a bit, though. ;-)

  11. Kalel
    May 9th, 2009 at 10:29 pm

    Can the Swami balance a checkbook?

  12. Ajan
    May 10th, 2009 at 5:07 am

    only a belt? or did they try anything else?

  13. tmayton
    May 10th, 2009 at 12:02 pm

    It will work with anything having similar properties to a stiff belt. This won't work with limp belts or most kinds of rope.

  14. MightyCow
    May 10th, 2009 at 8:22 pm

    Great! The economy is so bad they're even outsourcing magic tricks to India.

  15. seefish3
    May 11th, 2009 at 4:10 am

    God, I hate a limp belt...


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