Levitating Card Trick

[Lobber]

Short but amazing video

I figured out how he did it. Anyone else figure this out?

[spoiler]dracehtsetativelaremacehthtaenebpuriagniwolbnafa[/spoiler] <(-- Try to guess before looking under here

[Unix]

You're wrong.

He's using magicians thread on a spool.

http://www.magictricks.com/closeup/invsreel.htm

[Lobber]

If there was a string attached to the card that went to his hand or wrist, then the card would rotate away and up from him as he threw it out and away, but it remained level instead. Check the video closer.

[Unix]

The card is attached at two points...one to his person and one to the floor.

It's tough to explain, but I've done the same trick using a dollar bill. The string is wound before he releases it which is why it spins.

Towards the very end of the clip you can see the card start to just float. A fan wouldn't do that to a card. It would make the card flip one way or the other.

edit: Also a dead giveaway that he using thread is that the card moves in relation to his hand.

[Lobber]

Actually the card is not moving in relation to his hand. There are times when his hand moves up and down and the card does not. Also, if it was being held with string it would swing out and angle like a swing on a parabolic curve like this \\__/ but instead, it remains mostly level, and occasionally curves downward as it nears the edge of the airflow, such as this: /¯\\.

The reason it wobbles toward the end is because the spin is slowing down due to air resistance and as it loses spin it begins to lose stability. That's when he plucks it out of the air before it flips over and falls. The reason it spins is because he threw it with a spin from his wrist.

[Unix]

Okay, my final point.

When he throws the card, why does it not continue moving away from his body? It snaps back underneath his hand. Anyway, having done magic for a couple years, it's clear to me he's using thread.

[Lobber]

The reason it doesn't keep moving is because it stabilizes itself within the airflow. A light enough ball would do the same thing. The reason I know is because I've studied aerodynamic physics, so it's clear to me he's using a powerful updraft.

[Bet51987]

Hmmmm....I haven't figured it out yet, but Its highly unlikely that its being done with air. I study physics too, and the card is not something that can be this stable in air like a symetrical ball. Especially as it slows down toward the end.

There is nothing else moving either, like the papers on the wall or his shirt. He moves his hand too much which would have disturbed the flow.

One thing I noticed was that his left hand just prior to throwing it looks like it is stuck to the card. The string idea is more plausible I think.

This is bugging me now, but he is cute.

Bettina

Edit: I googled it and found this. Check the video link at the right of the page. I know how its done now, but not how to set it up without the book.
http://www.penguinmagic.com/europe/product.php?ID=747



Its done with [spoiler] thread [/spoiler]

[Lobber]

Ok, Unix is right after all.

[Unix]

I wonder if you could do it with a fan though. I've seen the ball thing at the Orlando Science Center before but never with anything other than some spherical object.

[Lothar]

I wonder if you could do it with a fan though. I've seen the ball thing at the Orlando Science Center before but never with anything other than some spherical object.

The reason the hovering ball works is that the faster air in the middle of the air column creates a low-pressure area. When the ball moves a little out of the center, it's pulled back by the low pressure.

The hovering object needs to have enough mass that it can sit in the fast stream of air near its source, where the airflow still resembles a column. If it doesn't have enough mass, it'll get blown out to where the column of air starts to get turbulent, and then it'll fall away. The object also needs to be close enough to spherical that it won't generate its own lift or turbulence.

If you put a playing card in a column of air like that, it will flip in all directions while it gets blown out of the column.

[Lobber]

If you want to do a neat trick, you can levitate a ping pong ball with your breath.

Tilt your head back place the ball just above your lips, and blow a stream of air directly up thru the ball, as hard and as constant as possible, and you can levitate the ping pong ball for a couple of seconds until you run out of breath.