About the Sitka Spinner
An Accidental Invention
Play-Doh, Microwave ovens, Post-It notes, Velcro, and the Slinky. Things that were invented during a creative process focused on something else.
The Sitka Spinner is a new one for the list of accidental inventions.
The Story
The Sitka Spinner's inventor is a radiologist with a masters' in electrical engineering. He was deep in another project when inspiration struck.
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While experimenting with a novel type of linear motor, the Sitka Spinner’s inventor was struggling with excessive heat buildup in the rotor, the moving part of the motor. Reconfiguring the rotor to use permanent magnets instead of electromagnets was tried to limit overheating. This led to the rotor having two magnetic parts coupled together.
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Fiddling with the rotor, the Sitka Spinner’s inventor discovered that spinning one part of the rotor caused the second part of the rotor to spin in ever changing patterns. This created unique spinning motions and an intermittent vibration as the magnets swept past each other.
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A unique and very satisfying sort of fidget device to join to join Play-Doh and the gang of accidental inventions.
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​You can get your own Sitka Spinner on Amazon.​​​