The magical spinning globe

Friday, August 10, 2012

“I got you a gift,” said Bunny.

“Oh really?”

“Yes. It contains a large magnet, a sealed container filled with liquid, and solar cells.”

“Hmmm … ”

“It's also something you collect.”

So I'm trying to think of something that I collect that has magnets, sealed containers with liquid and some electronics. “It's not a Lego Mindstorm kit, is it?”

“No.”

“Can I see the box?”

“Sure,” said Bunny. She then handed over a six inch cube box to me. It was quite heavy for its size. Blue colored, with “Mova” written on the side.

“I still can't tell what it is.”

She opens the box, and pulled out a clear disk about 2½ inches across and about an inch thick. There were three holes on one side. She also pulled out a few clear rods, also about 2½ inches long and ¼ inch across. They fit into the hole to form what looked like a stand. “Interesting,” I said.

She then pulled out a plastic bag, about five inches across. “Here you go,” she said, handing the bag over to me.

I take it, and pull out a beautiful globe.

The globe itself is encased in a clear shell filled with a special liquid that allows the globe inside to spin. The solar cells are used to drive the globe to spin within the clear shell, by using ambient light as a power source; the magnet inside helps to drive the motion.