Spinning Patterns

Mini-Vibe
Make your own Spinning Patterns.

Materials

• Old record player or turntable. (A lazy Susan with a square or circular board placed on it will also work, but it has to be rotated by hand.)
• Paper and markers

Mount a piece of paper on turntable. (If the turntable has grooves, cover it with cardboard). Start the turntable. Move the marker at a constant speed in a straight line from the center to the edge. The spiral curve that appears is called a spiral of Archimedes. Move your pen from the center at different speeds and notice how the spiral changes. Try drawing other straight lines: start at the edge and draw a line toward the center, or start at the edge and draw a line at a 45-degree angle. Draw straight lines with different constant speeds to make new curves. Draw many straight lines radiating out from a point halfway between the center and the edge of the turntable. Try to draw a triangle or a square on the rotating turntable.

For more details on this activity, go to
http://www.exploratorium.edu/snacks/blackboardrings.html