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Line 1: :''For the fictional / theorized future animal, see [[Rattleback (rodent)]].'' [[Image:Celt_with_gemstone_turtles-01.jpg\|thumb\|~~500px~~300px\|Celts are asymmetrical tops which have a preferred direction of spin. If spun in the opposite direction they become unstable and reverse their spin to the preferred direction.]] Also known as a "wobblestone" or "celt", the '''rattleback''' is a semi-[[ellipsoid]]al object that can be spun about its axis like a [[top]], but after a while reverses its spinning direction. This seems, at first sight, to violate [[conservation of angular momentum]]. Moreover, for most rattlebacks, the spinning reversal will happen when the rattleback is spun in one direction, but not when spun the other. These two peculiarities make the rattleback a physical curiosity that has excited human imagination since prehistorical times.

Rattleback: Difference between revisions