Հոլ

Հոլ

I bought an Armenian spinning top - Հոլ. You throw it, pull the string, and it starts to spin.

There is an interesting idea here from the physics point of view: the string starts unwinding when the radius is still big, and this is a good condition for starting the motion. Then, while the string unwinds, the radius decreases, giving you an opportunity to reach a high rotation speed.

I spent some time figuring out how to launch this toy. But once you can do it, it quickly becomes boring.

The next story is about how to make it fun again with colored discs, and what physiology is hiding behind these pictures.