Video: Bubbles, magnetic levitation and gyroscopes — there’s a ton of super-cool DIY physics at work in the Levitron. Created by Dustin Skye, it’s a spinning top floating in mid-air inside a smoke-filled bubble, all for your viewing pleasure.
To create the levitating top, Skye placed a large ring-shaped magnet in a wooden base filled with bubble-making liquid, and a smaller ring-shaped magnet in a small top. The strong magnetic field of the large magnet repels the top, and a gyroscopic effect keeps it stable as it spins. He adapted an e-cigarette cartridge to produce a pure glycerine fog. Then it was just a matter of creating the dome-shaped bubble over the whole shebang. Voila! That’s the magic of science.
And here’s slightly different angle: