Levitron Facts for Kids

The Levitron is a cool brand of toys and gifts. These toys float in the air! They are sold by companies like Creative Gifts Inc. and Fascination Toys & Gifts. The most famous Levitron toy is a special spinning top. It uses something called spin-stabilized magnetic levitation to float. This means it uses magnets and spinning to stay in the air. Other Levitron products can make things like globes or model cars float too. From 1994 to 1999, over 750,000 of the Levitron tops were sold.

How the Levitron Top Floats
- Making the Top Levitate
- Why the Top Falls Down
History of the Levitron
- Who Invented It?
- Legal Disagreements
See also

How the Levitron Top Floats

The Levitron top is a toy top with a special design. It has a magnetic ring and a magnetic base plate. To make it float, everything needs to be just right. The top must spin at a certain speed. It also needs to have the correct weight.

Making the Top Levitate

To make the top float, you first put a plastic plate on the magnetic base. Then, you spin the top very fast on this plate. It needs to spin between 25 and 50 times every second. If it spins too slowly, it will fall over. If it spins too fast, it won't float correctly. Spinning it by hand can be tricky. So, Creative Gifts made a battery-powered tool. This tool helps you spin the top fast enough.

Next, you slowly lift the plastic plate. If everything is perfect, the top will rise above the plate. It will then float in the air! The top also comes with small washers. You need to add the right number of washers to the top. If the top is too heavy, it won't float. If it's too light, it will fly away.

Why the Top Falls Down

The top can only float for a few minutes. This is because air friction slows it down. Once it spins too slowly, it loses its balance and falls. Many things can make the top fall. These include air temperature, air currents, and even tiny ground shakes.

Scientists have made special lab versions of the Levitron. These can keep the top floating forever. They do this by keeping the top spinning. The makers of the Levitron also created a "Perpetuator." This device sits under the Levitron. It sends out small magnetic pushes. These pushes keep the top spinning at a steady speed. If the Levitron is perfectly level and the speed is constant, the top can float for a very long time.

History of the Levitron

Who Invented It?

The idea for the first floating magnet device came from Roy Harrigan. He was an inventor from Vermont. He created his device around 1976. He received a patent for it in 1983.

In the mid-1990s, a businessman named Bill Hones found Harrigan's patent. Hones was also trying to make things float with magnets. He met with Harrigan and borrowed his floating device. Hones, with help from his father, studied how it worked. Then, Hones filed for his own "improvement patent."

Another inventor, Joseph Chieffo, also discovered how to make magnets float using spin. This happened in 1984. He tried to get a patent for his device. But he found out about Harrigan's patent. So, he stopped trying to get his own patent. In 1988, Chieffo started selling his device as a kit. His device had a flat base magnet. This was different from Harrigan's curved magnet. Hones' later Levitron device also had a flat base magnet.

In 2012 and 2014, people even made Levitrons float at an angle. They could even make them float sideways! They used extra magnets to do this. The sideways Levitron is very stable. This makes it great for learning about physics.

Legal Disagreements

In the 1990s, a company called "UFO" started selling the Levitron. They had an agreement with Bill Hones' company, Creative Gifts. But their agreement fell apart. The people at UFO learned about Roy Harrigan's earlier invention. They then put an article on their website. It said that Hones had "stolen" the invention.

Creative Gifts then sued UFO. They said UFO was using their trademark unfairly. In court, Creative Gifts won. UFO's claims against Creative Gifts were rejected. The court said UFO had not followed the rules during the case. The appeals court noted that UFO had not presented their case well. They said UFO had "shot themselves in the foot." This meant UFO had hurt their own case by not following the rules.

Levitron facts for kids

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