On May 5, 2018, a young Australian named Feliks Zemdegs broke the Rubik’s cube world record by solving the famous color puzzle in just 4.22 seconds . At 22 years old, Zemdegs has become the king of this popular puzzle, being surpassed only by machines specially designed for it and which, until now, have been able to do it in 0.38 seconds .
Like the invention of the Hungarian Erno Rubik, there is an extensive list of inventions that were designed with a scientific origin and purpose and ended up becoming the most popular toys of their respective decades. Either because they took advantage of the physical principles on which they are based or because they managed to bring science closer and accessible to a bulk of the population that usually remains outside of it, these types of devices quickly became popular once they entered the shops.
Nikola Tesla designed plasma lamps as a tool to study high-voltage currents, but in the 1980s they became the decoration of so many rooms, shops, movie sets, and even nightclubs. It is very difficult to walk past one and not touch it to see how the miniature lightning storm is heading, without being able to reach it, towards your finger. Science continues to serve the entertainment of human beings beyond television, video consoles or virtual reality.
Whether for decorating, entertaining and creative teaching, or hanging out at the office or school, there is an extensive list of objects that synthesize and demonstrate some of the great physical laws that secretly govern our lives and that we know thanks to hard work from scientists who spent years researching how the world works. The law of conservation of energy and momentum can be perfectly corroborated with the typical Newtonian pendulum of five identical spheres that occupies so many desks.
Whether in a high-tech laboratory or in the nearest gift shop, science occupies a privileged place in our daily lives and, although we do not always see it, it is present in practically everything that surrounds us, we enjoy it and it entertains.
