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A tippe top is a kind of top. When a tippe top is spun at a high angular velocity, its handle slowly tilts downwards more and more until it lifts the body of the top off the ground and points perfectly downward. As the top's spinning rate slows, it loses stability and eventually topples over. Explaining this phenomena requires use of very sophisticated physics. At first glance the top's inversion could mistakenly be found to be a situation where the object gains energy. This is because the inversion of the top raises the object's center of mass, which means the potential energy has increased. What causes the inversion (and the increase in potential energy) is a torque due to sliding friction, which also decreases the kinetic energy of the top, so the total energy does not actually increase.
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[edit] Patent
- DE patent 63261 "Wendekreisel" filed by Fräulein Helene Sperl on 07.10.1891, published on 12.07.1892"
