Talk:Top

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DateProcessResult
February 19, 2008Peer reviewReviewed

I know there is a mathematical shape (for an object of uniform density) which optimizes the equation of the energy wasted in uprighting the top and stored momentum and final tendency toward precession, so as to extend the time of rotation furthest. I don't have details though, so I am posting this here, in the hope that someone knows more. -- Cimon Avaro on a pogostick (spinning furiously :)


I just reverted the anon's edit because, although I cannot read a word of Hebrew, the edit did not make sense. The current article has:

  • נס גרול היה שס (hebrew is read right to left)

Reading right to left I could recognise each of the letters 'starting' each word: נ (Nun), ג (Gimel), ה (Hey), ש (Shin).

The edit by User:82.80.10.108 changed the last (left-most) two characters to read:

נס גדול היה פה(hebrew is read right to left)

This could be correct for all I know, but now I cannot see the ש (Shin) character in the complete phrase.

If I'm wrong just revert it back. -Wikibob | Talk 15:41, 2004 Nov 25 (UTC)

doesn't dradle deserve its own article.[edit]

i was curious about the origins of the dradle, and i got redirected here... doesn't dradle deserve its own article. 24.81.143.138 02:13, 1 August 2005 (UTC)[reply]

I think dreidel definitely should have its own article. I'm suprised that it never has. Dyfsunctional 19:09, 8 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]
I agree, so I think I'm going to separate them. Aldous Hooplah 00:13, 6 April 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Dreidle; hebrew translation[edit]

Shouldn't the Hebrew for dreidle be added:- i.e סביבון

Age[edit]

It says that toy tops have been found in archeological sites, but doesn't say where or from when... any clues? ---Ransom

Isent a Levitron a type of top?[edit]

Isent a Levitron a type of top? it was in the tops section 5hrs. ago. Jonathan482 09:41, 20 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Perinola[edit]

A perinola is a hollow cap of wood attached to a stick with a ring around it by a string. The aim is to get the hat to fall on the stick without touching it, only holding the stick part. It's very, very common in Venezuela. Where did this six sided top thing come from? —Preceding unsigned comment added by PedroFromHell (talkcontribs) 23:55, 31 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

From Argentina 190.138.8.74 (talk) 04:31, 13 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Picture: a spinning top[edit]

It seems to me that the article's main picture ought to show a spinning top, that being what tops do. Any opinions on if I take a picture of a spinning top and set that as the main picture? SnappingTurtle (talk) 07:23, 28 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Spinning tops with string?[edit]

Is there a special type of top that is spun/thrown with string as opposed to the finger and thumb thumb-spun ones with handles? Are these considered different varieties, or is a distinction not made? TheHYPO (talk) 13:19, 10 March 2008 (UTC)March 2009 spinning tops where made into better shapes[reply]

Physics of spinning top[edit]

I was quite disappointed to see that there was no physics discussion! 199.76.145.99 (talk) 21:36, 9 February 2012 (UTC) the reason for no physics discussion is because there no good explanation for how spinning top works. there is new discovery regarding how spinning top works please use the link below to see what is the discovery about. the principle investigator still working on the article. <iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/BjXPm6C1KBw" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>[reply]

Answer: it is not quite true that there is no good explanation for how a spinning top works. See the references I've added in the "further reading" section. What's true is, there is no SIMPLE explanation for how a spinning top works. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 49.228.226.253 (talk) 01:48, 22 January 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Name change: 'Top' to 'Spinning top'[edit]

I propose changing the name of this article. The word 'Top' on is own is insufficinet ot explain the objects generally refered to as 'spinning tops'. The point of the toy is to spin. If you remove spinning from the title it is unclear what is being referred to. The word 'top' on it's own can refer to many different things. 'Spinning top' is unambiguous. simonthebold (talk) 14:15, 8 September 2016 (UTC)[reply]

See http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/top - not even mentioned as a noun.

The top spinners from Kota Baru, Malaysia[edit]

Thanks to the book Chasing the Rainbow - recurrences in the life of a scientist by Robert Greenler (2000) I know something about the existence of the top spinners from Kota Baru in Malaysia. In this book, three color photographs show the top spinners in action. The first photograph shows the master top spinner, winding the rope tightly around his seven-pound top. The second photograph shows Robert Greenler, trying to scoop up a spinning top. The third photograph shows a member of the top-spinning team, meditating on the top before he sets it into a bamboo section partially buried in the ground. Typically such a top will remain spinning for an hour or more. Note that this book is not only about top spinners, but also about optical phenomena in the sky, bee keeping, and the life of a scientist (R. Greenler) among other scientists and inventors. Fascinating book! DannyCaes (talk) 13:54, 7 September 2021 (UTC)[reply]