Reviews of Copernicus - Radiometer

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A radiometer doesn't do anything useful, but it's really cool. You set it in the light and it spins. That's all. My cousin had one when I was a kid and I was always jealous. It struck me a fun stocking stuffer for my son who is an engineering student. It was a real hit. He immediately set about determining what kinds of light worked best: sunlight, incandescent, fluorescent, flashlight, candle light, heat from a blow dryer. I guess I'm going to have to get myself another one when he goes back to college next week.

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This is wonderful! I remember when I was a kid, and had one of these. It is not exactly fun to play with actively all the time, or something that you will be using every day to check lighting conditions, but it is definitely something to put on your window sill, or on a dresser or book shelf where it can be hit with the sun. I find it more of a decorative piece.

It is good to see these are still being made and sold! I bought two, and they both arrived VERY well packaged, in perfect condition, and work great! They also come with a little workbook with scientific experiments that can be done with them, and explanations of why it spins. Useful to teach with!

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Ever since I first came across one of these toys back in high school, I found it incredibly fascinating. For the longest time I thought it illustrated one of the very fundamental yet highly counterintuitive physics principles: light carries momentum. However, it turns out that this is not the mechanism that makes this toy work. The real physics behind it is a bit more mundane, although no less important. The colorings of vanes cause the air inside the bulb to be heated at different rates, which creates the pressure gradient that rotates the vanes. This is still a very important physical process, and this toy is a fun way of illustrating it.

The overall quality of this toy is fairly good. If not handled too roughly it will probably last forever. The best places to keep it are those that are in the open and receive a lot of light, like the work desk area or a window pane. The light bulb seems fragile and it should not be left in the areas where little kids or animals can easily reach it.

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I'm quite a fan of Radiometers...just the simple fact that they spin up when the sun comes out is enough to brighten up my day. I bought one as a junior high student after being enchanted by the simple elegance, and it's been going on ever since. Recently, I wanted to give a few radiometers as presents, but I couldn't find a local museum or science shop that carried them, so I turned to Amazon.

I choose the Copernicus Radiometer over the others primarily on price: I wanted a higher quality product and I was willing to spend a little more to get it. Unfortunately, the Copernicus Radiometer is not a high quality product. Compared to my original, the Copernicus displays poor workmanship and poor materials. My original Radiometer had an integrated glass base which not only looks better but is infinitely more robust than the cheap plastic base used by the Copernicus. Aesthetics aside, the plastic base is easily scratched and is simply glued to the bulb using a combination of glue and cement. Of the two Copernicus radiometers that I purchased, one of them basically fell apart the second I took it out of the box! Besides the base, the glass itself has a several flaws such as gas bubbles, foreign material, and a lack of evenness along the top. I thought maybe I got a dud but my second unit also had this issue. I should clarify that the sides of the bulbs look great and that the glass is only problematic on the tops of the bulbs. I posted pictures for reference.

Overall, the Copernicus Radiometer works, but lacks refinement. The biggest praise I can muster is that it's well packaged and can withstand the rigors of shipping and international travel as checked baggage. If this is your first Radiometer, I think the issues I described above (besides the thing spontaneously falling apart...a few dabs of hot glue did the trick) will not detract from the overall experience. You still do get a rather mysterious yet beautiful object.

Notes:

1) The physics behind how Radiometers work is more complex than the leaflet makes it appear to be. For example, the radiometer will actually spin backwards if you move it from a room-temperature environment to a very cold environment such as a freezer (sans light!)

2) Lasers work, but don't use a super-powerful one. You will DESTROY the vanes and you may foul the partial vacuum.

3) My rating is focused on the execution of this particular product and is not about radiometers in general.

4) It's much more than a toy!

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This is a windmill that runs on light. As ling as it is sunny the vanes will spin. A truely intreaguing piece of scientific equipment.

I broke mine and missed it so much I had to search for another.