Jun 5 2008Magnetic Accelerator Kit Fires Ball Bearings
The $30 Magnetic Accelerator from Thinkgeek uses black magic to launch ball bearings at your roommate when he refuses to fetch you a beer from the fridge even though he's closer. The kit can be assembled in just a few minutes and requires no glue (so there's little chance of bonding your hand to your genitals again). "Set the metal ball at the end of the track and watch as the energy transfers and multiplies down the track of magnets and metal balls until finally the last ball zooms off." Whee, what fun -- I love zooming balls, provided they're not my roomate's buzzing in for a teabag because I passed out on the couch. Seriously, you had your fun, now take the pictures off Facebook.
Hit the jump for a short video of the weapon in action.
teabagging the roomie!
In this photo: The Geekologie Writer (photos), my balls (photos)
Added May 29, 2008
Reader Comments
1. Momboelitist - June 5, 2008 11:24 AM
OK, that was fun for 2 seconds....now what?
Oh yea, FIRST!
2. poopoo - June 5, 2008 11:26 AM
Now we modify it / make it lethal.
3. Popadopolis - June 5, 2008 11:32 AM
Yes, make it lethal so I can take it through airport security and pick off the guys who beat the hell out of my luggage. Seriously, I left California with a dozen eggs for breeding and by the time I landed in Phoenix, I had a soup.
...a delicious, crunchy soup.
4. boxedj - June 5, 2008 11:37 AM
if you made the track circular would it go round and round faster and faster?
5. anyone - June 5, 2008 12:31 PM
It would surely create a black hole that would destroy this whole galaxy (and maybe some more).
Who thought you could build the ultimate machine of destruction from some bearings and crappy pieces of wood?!
6. imscuba - June 5, 2008 12:34 PM
that was terrible video btw. it shows nothing, get some high speed at multiple angles if you are going to try to sell a product like this
7. Jeff - June 5, 2008 12:35 PM
The only reason it works is due to polarity. If you put it in a circle eventually one pole of one magnet would interfere with the pole of another resulting in a floating bal.l. pretty much it would eventually just hover between two magnets.
8. Matt - June 5, 2008 12:37 PM
@4 nah - i tried - the friction and the energy loss at the exchanges is just too great - its cool though.
9. Matt - June 5, 2008 12:39 PM
oh and dur @4 - this particular set up is with magnets and balls on either side - this wouldnt work because it only has 1 ball to shoot - the method i was talking about was with spherical magnets.
10. greg - June 5, 2008 12:58 PM
4 seconds of action and 12 for credits
11. Rix - June 5, 2008 1:03 PM
Google "Gauss Rifle". You can definitely build this youself with bearings, strong magnets, tape, and ruler. Seen it in my physics class.
12. GEOPPH'RE'Y - June 5, 2008 2:12 PM
I might buy a dozen of these, line them up and see how many walls I can penetrate.
13. Joey - June 6, 2008 12:40 AM
You can hate on the vid quality, but don't blame Thinkgeek. These vids and pics are sent in by customers who post them to show how the products look in action (and to get their two seconds of fame). :)
14. Grobbendonk - June 6, 2008 7:47 AM
Works better if you use rare-earth magnets instead of the rather ordinary ones supplied.
15. anyone - June 7, 2008 10:05 AM
I tried to put a magnet between my balls and nothing happened...
What sort of science is that, for the love of God?!
16. Ocelot - February 19, 2009 3:03 PM
WTF! I had to watch this video fifteen times and I'm still unsatisfied. They really should have shot a squirrel or some old person, not some crappy action figure. Cool, but let's get some Time Warp here!!