A
top, or
spinning top, is a
toyA toy is an object used in play. Toys are usually associated with children and pets, but it is not unusual for adult humans and some non-domesticated animals to play with toys. Many items are manufactured to serve as toys, but goods, or services produced for other purposes can also be used as toys...
that can be spun on an axis, balancing on a point. This motion is produced by holding the axis firmly while pulling a string. An internal weight then rotates, producing an overall circular motion. The top is one of the oldest recognizable toys found on
archaeologicalArchaeology or archeology is the science that studies human cultures through the recovery, documentation, analysis, and interpretation of material culture and environmental data, including architecture, artifacts, biofacts, and landscapes...
sites. Spinning tops originated independently in cultures all over the world. Besides toys, tops have also historically been used for
gamblingGambling is the wagering of money or something of material value on an event with an uncertain outcome with the primary intent of winning additional money and/or material goods. Typically, the outcome of the wager is evident within a short period....
and
prophecyA prophecy is the message that has been communicated to a prophet which the prophet then communicates to others. In general, this message can involve divine inspiration, revelation, or interpretation. More specifically, it may be a professed psychic prediction. Confusion often exists between the...
.
A
top, or
spinning top, is a
toyA toy is an object used in play. Toys are usually associated with children and pets, but it is not unusual for adult humans and some non-domesticated animals to play with toys. Many items are manufactured to serve as toys, but goods, or services produced for other purposes can also be used as toys...
that can be spun on an axis, balancing on a point. This motion is produced by holding the axis firmly while pulling a string. An internal weight then rotates, producing an overall circular motion. The top is one of the oldest recognizable toys found on
archaeologicalArchaeology or archeology is the science that studies human cultures through the recovery, documentation, analysis, and interpretation of material culture and environmental data, including architecture, artifacts, biofacts, and landscapes...
sites. Spinning tops originated independently in cultures all over the world. Besides toys, tops have also historically been used for
gamblingGambling is the wagering of money or something of material value on an event with an uncertain outcome with the primary intent of winning additional money and/or material goods. Typically, the outcome of the wager is evident within a short period....
and
prophecyA prophecy is the message that has been communicated to a prophet which the prophet then communicates to others. In general, this message can involve divine inspiration, revelation, or interpretation. More specifically, it may be a professed psychic prediction. Confusion often exists between the...
. Some
role-playing gameA role-playing game is a game in which the participants assume the roles of fictional characters. Participants determine the actions of their characters based on their characterization, and the actions succeed or fail according to a formal system of rules and guidelines...
rs still use tops to augment
diceA die or dice is a small polyhedral object, usually cubic, used for generating random numbers or other symbols...
in generating randomized results; it is in this case referred to as a
spinner. A
thumbtackA thumbtack is a short nail or pin with a large, slightly rounded head made of metal which is used to fasten documents to a background for public display and which can easily be inserted or removed by hand.-Types of thumbtack:The most common piecemeal thumbtacks are...
may also be made to spin on the same principles.
The action of a top relies on the
gyroscopicA gyroscope is a device for measuring or maintaining orientation, based on the principles of angular momentum. A mechanical gyroscope is essentially a spinning wheel or disk whose axle is free to take any orientation...
effect for its operation. Typically the top will at first wobble until the shape of the tip and its interaction with the surface force it upright. After spinning upright for an extended period, the
angular momentumAngular momentum is a quantity that is useful in describing the rotational state of a physical system. For a rigid body rotating around an axis of symmetry , the angular momentum can be expressed as the product of the body's moment of inertia and its angular velocity...
, and therefore the gyroscopic effect will gradually lessen, leading to ever increasing
precessionPrecession refers to a change in the orientation of the rotation axis of a rotating body. It can be defined as a change in direction of the rotation axis in which the second Euler angle is constant...
, finally causing the top to topple in a frequently violent last thrash.
In recent years there have been many developments with the technology of the top. Bearing tops, with a tip that spins, have been one of the biggest changes. Fixed tip tops are featured in National Championships in Chico, California and in the World Championships in Orlando, Florida.
Types of tops
- Battling top
- Battle Strikers
- Beigoma
-Description:A small but heavy disk shaped toy of approximately 3cm in diameter, it is spun by wrapping a thin 60 cm cord around it, then throwing it while releasing the chord to spin it onto a surface such as matting spread across the top of a barrel. The thrower aims it at another beigoma that is...
- Beyblade
Beyblade is a spinning top developed and manufactured by Takara starting in 1999. Both the toys and their name were inspired by "Beigoma", a traditional Japanese top toy. The introduction of the toy in Japan corresponded with the broadcast of an anime television series of the same name...
- Concertina top
- Dreidel
A dreidel is a four-sided spinning top, played with during the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah. The dreidel is used for a form of the gambling game Teetotum .Each side of the dreidel bears a letter of the Hebrew alphabet:...
(also spelled "dradel", "dreidl", or "dreydl")
- Flaming top
- Gaming top
Bambaram /Lattu or Spinning Tops are used for fun experience game used in India and Pakistan. The skill and interest in this game is reducing due to other interests taking priority and also due to unsafe nails along with bullying of younger, smaller, poorer kids. This game is more common among Boys...
- Gasing jantung
- Gasing leper
- Humming top
- Floating top
Levitron is a brand of levitating toys and gifts in science and educational markets marketed by Creative Gifts Inc. and Fascination Toys & Gifts. The Levitron top device is a commercial toy that displays the phenomenon known as spin stabilized magnetic levitation. Other versions involve a...
- Perinola, a six-sided top, very similar to the dreidel, that is used for a similar game in Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish, Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,501 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
.
- Spinja
Spinjas is a ratcheted spinning top game created by Parker Brothers in the late 1980s. The game set was sold as a Battle Stadium plastic arena with two Power Winder launchers and two Spinja characters enclosed within the clam-shell designed arena. More characters, launchers, and an oversized...
- Tippe top
A tippe top is a kind of top. When a tippe top is spun at a high angular velocity, its handle slowly tilts downwards more and more until it lifts the body of the top off the ground and points perfectly downward. As the top's spinning rate slows, it loses stability and eventually topples over. ...
- Trompo
A Trompo is a toy popular in Latin America much like a top. Its name can vary between countries. In Spain it is known as "Peonza". Trompos have a pear-shaped body and are usually made of wood, although new resins and strong plastic materials have also been used.The trompo seen in this picture is...
- Whipping top
- Whistling top
And it is from ancient greek
See also
- Bauernroulette
Bauernroulette is a game that was apparently invented in Germany, where several companies sell it. The name Bauernroulette indicates it is a "poor man's roulette", since Bauer is German for 'peasant', 'farmer' or 'one of a chiefly European class of agricultural laborers'...
- Gee-haw whammy diddle
A gee-haw whammy diddle is mechanical toy consisting of two wooden sticks. One has a series of notches cut transversely along its side and a smaller wooden stick or a propeller attached to the end with a nail or pin. This stick is held stationary in one hand with the notches up, and the other...
- Gyroscope
A gyroscope is a device for measuring or maintaining orientation, based on the principles of angular momentum. A mechanical gyroscope is essentially a spinning wheel or disk whose axle is free to take any orientation...
- Levitron
Levitron is a brand of levitating toys and gifts in science and educational markets marketed by Creative Gifts Inc. and Fascination Toys & Gifts. The Levitron top device is a commercial toy that displays the phenomenon known as spin stabilized magnetic levitation. Other versions involve a...
- Rattleback
A rattleback, also known as an "anagyre", "celt", "Celtic stone", "rebellious celt", "rattlerock", "spin bar", "wobble stone" or "wobblestone" and by the product names "ARK," "Bizzaro Swirls," "RATTLEBACKS," "Space Pet" and "Space Toy," is a semi-ellipsoidal top which will spin on its axis in a...
or celt, a top that reverses its spin direction.
- The Top
"The Top" is a short story by Franz Kafka, written sometime between 1917 and 1923.-Plot summary:A philosopher believes that he could understand everything in the world if he were to understand a single element in it...
, short story by Franz KafkaFranz Kafka was a major fiction writer of the 20th century. He was born to a middle-class German-speaking Jewish family in Prague, Bohemia , Austria–Hungary...
- Wizzer
Wizzer is the brand name of a line of gyrostats intended as children's toys. Wizzers may be described as cowled tops, or as covered gyroscopes...
- Yo-yo
The yo-yo is a toy consisting of two equally sized but not specifically equally weighted pieces of plastic, wood, or metal, connected with an axle, with a string looped around the axle...
External links