Magic Water Bender

Based on Static Electricity

Ali Shtarbanov (MIT Media Lab)

On one wall of The Magic Room, you see a strange-looking contraption. Behind a thick transparent acrylic sheet, you see free-flowing water in a laminar profile, that is simply falling into a pool at the bottom and then recirculated upward via a thick pipe that on the exterior of the device. Inside the device, you also see a much of cylindrical rods arranged in seemingly arbitrary configuration, and a control panel underneath the device with many knobs - equal in number to that of the rods.

But the most vibrant item behind the acrylic sheet is an empty jug that is resting on a platform that looks very much like a mass scale. But most interestingly, this jug is not stationary! It keeps moving left and right at a relatively slow speed, making it impossible not to question why is it doing so. The path of motion for the jug however, never comes close to the water stream - it remains mostly on the right hand side of the contraption.

You realize that maybe you have to fill in the cup with water, but how? The answer must lie in the knobs on the control panel below. You turn one of the knobs, one of the cylindrical pipes becomes illuminated, and then - something absolutely spectacular happens - the water no longer falls in a straight line but it bends towards the rods! Moreover, as you increase or decrease the angle or rotation of the knob, the amount of bending changes. But still, it is very minimal. When you turn-on more of the knobs, and more cylinders become activated, the water bends even more. Achieving the right amount of bending for it to go into the cup would be difficult. You have to know not only which rods to turn on and which to turn off, but also by what amount the knobs should be turned on. Moreover, the fact that the cup is moving does not help at all.

Either by yourself or with the help of your friends, you eventually manage to put some water into the cup. Oh...no... you see that the cup has a hole and water is leaking out. Fortunately the hole is not that big, so the cup can hold water for some time. But in order to fill it up to the top, you really need to be aiming that water streat at the cup. And even as the cup moves, you have to turn the dials in such a way that the water stream follows the cup's motion. This is something that is just impossible for you to do alone, so you must seek help form a friend. At least two of you must coordinate what knob should each of you be turning when and by what amount. An LED panel lights up to indicate that you have completed the challenge, and now something incredibly spooky happens. Without any human intervention, the water on its own bends dynamically, such that it exactly follows the trajectory of the cup. You just get to sit and enjoy this magical viewing experience.