A Student's Guide to
Funnel PhysicsWelcome to our Student's Guide. We hope you have as much fun learning about this naturally-occuring phenomena as we did while making this website.
Click here to begin with Funnel Physics
Attention Science Teachers: Do you want a large funnel for your science demonstrations? We have some special educational options available for you. Please contact us and ask for "teacher options".
The Student's Guide is made possible by a grant from Divnick International, Inc., manufacturer of the mini Vortx wishing well toy.
If you don't already have one, we invite you to take this opportunity to place an order and see why these toys are so much fun. With the Vortx, you can experience some of the phenomena we will cover in the Student's Guide.
Play Coin Limbo
In addition to just watching the coins spin around the funnel, there are several games and experiments you can perform with the Vortx®. The most popular is called "coin-limbo" where you let the coin descend down the funnel, and then make it climb back up by moving the Vortx® in a circular motion as illustrated here. By moving the Vortx®, you are actually creating the centrifugal force that keeps the coin rolling, similar to the outward force an a car and driver at a race track. The lower you let the coin descend, the more challenging it is to make it climb again without allowing it to fall over. No matter what your skill level is, you can challenge yourself because NO ONE has every been able to bring it back up from the vertical position.
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Click here to see a little movie clip of how to make the coins climb back UP the funnel. This clip also shows high-speed spinning. (This is a 250kb Quicktime file, so it might take some time to load if you are on a dial-up connection, and you may need to download the latest version of the free viewer.) |
World Record
In fact, you can keep a coin rolling as long as your coordination lasts using the same circular motion described above. During a high school "Spin-a-thon" the world record was set by Rick Swartz for "the longest continuous rolling of a coin" at 33 hours and 16 minutes. The students got pledges of $1 per hour and raised lots of money for the school project.
Another fun game is to see if you can toss coins in without the ramps and still make them spin around. You need to experiment to get the correct angle, rotation, and speed, but it is a lot of fun to conquer the challenge.
Click here to get your own Vortx®.
A message from the inventor...
When I invented the first Spiral Wishing Well, it was for an offering device in my church. My own children were about 6 years old, and along with their friends, they loved to watch the coins perform. It wasn't long before I realized this funnel would make a great fund raising device, and over $200 million worth of coins have been tossed into Wells for various charities since.
Making the toy version was a natural step as it gave parents a chance to get their children their own mini-well and "take the fun home". It provides a great learning device for children because of the physics it demonstrates. And of course, it encourages saving money, and that's always a good thing.
So it has been my pleasure to be a part of so many great things that have happened with the Spiral Wishing Wells and Vortx's over the years. I hope they bring as much fun for you and your family, and that you enjoy the educational stories about whirlpools and tornados.
"Wishing you Well,"
