Fun With Magnets

Buckyballs®, Zen Magnets®, Neocubes™, nanodots®, no matter which brand you prefer or fight for, they are all very cool and quite popular desk toys. Made from rare earth magnets, they come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and colors, making your creativity the only limit. People have made all kinds of interesting sculptures, designs, and even functioning machines. Here are examples of some really cool concepts:

And some interesting machines:

Spinning Machine: http://youtu.be/fnWIUw0txzo

Making a sphere spin vertically (not actually Buckyballs® but pretty neat): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdgzU_84VMg&feature=related

And, my favorite because I could actually build it (see below), a tiny motor: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJWJXaWz94k

And even a solar powered one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGFNn6OTVWg

Here's my attempt at the motor:

Though these little things are so fun, the CPSC (Consumer Product Safety Commission) has recently put a ban on the Buckyballs® and Buckycubes®. Over half a billion magnets were sold, and less than two dozen incidents have ever been reported. It doesn't look like they'll be around forever, at least for Buckyballs®, so get them while you still can!

Already have some? Post your creations!

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