Kugel ball

This article is about the sculpted fountains. For other uses, see Kugel (disambiguation).

A kugel ball is a sculpture consisting of a large granite ball supported by a very thin film of water. Water flows beneath a very heavy, perfectly spherical rock from a spherical concave base with exactly the same curvature. A kugel ball can weigh thousands of pounds, but because the thin film of water lubricates it, the ball spins.[1]

Kugel ball installations can be found all over the world. Many are at popular tourist destinations, such as a science museum in the United States,[2] a shopping center in England, a hotel lobby in Kuwait, and a botanical garden in Germany.

The term kugel ball originates from the German word Kugel for sphere.

Kugel balls

Locations of kugel balls

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.
FacilityCityCountryGPS CoordinateFurther information
The Frank’s Nursery and Crafts Rose Garden at Michigan State University East Lansing, Michigan USA 42°43′15″N 84°28′27″W / 42.72079°N 84.47413°W
Marshall Nemer Pavilion, Lourdes Hospital Paducah, Kentucky USA Unknown
Towne Center at Cedar Lodge Baton Rouge, Louisiana USA 30°25′58″N 91°06′43″W / 30.432830°N 91.112009°W
Holiday Inn Express Montreal Airport Montreal, Quebec Canada 45°27′40″N 73°43′26″W / 45.461109°N 73.723973°W
Abt Electronics Glenview, Illinois USA 42°04′05″N 87°51′09″W / 42.067964°N 87.852602°W
Parco Kumamoto Japan 32°48′11″N 130°42′36″W / 32.802953°N 130.710127°W
TriHealth Fitness & Health Pavilion Cincinnati, Ohio USA 39°15′21″N 84°21′54″W / 39.255901°N 84.364927°W
Reading Hospital Reading, Pennsylvania USA 40°19′47″N 75°56′58″W / 40.329704°N 75.949492°W [3]
Science Museum of Virginia Richmond, Virginia USA 37°33′39″N 77°27′58″W / 37.560809°N 77.466157°W
Virginia Zoological Park Norfolk, Virginia USA 36°52′43″N 76°16′28″W / 36.8786°N 76.2744°W
International Mission Board Richmond, Virginia USA 37°34′06″N 77°28′56″W / 37.5683565°N 77.4822119°W
Millennium Plaza Omaha, Nebraska USA 41°15′51″N 96°09′44″W / 41.264191°N 96.162198°W
Forrest Place Perth, Western Australia Australia 31°57′10″S 115°51′33″E / 31.952756°S 115.859182°E
The University of Western Australia, CS Department Perth, Western Australia Australia 31°58′40″S 115°48′59″E / 31.97781°S 115.81645°E Installed 2009
Questacon Canberra, Australian Capital Territory Australia 35°17′53″S 149°07′53″E / 35.298158°S 149.131507°E
SkyHigh Mount Dandenong Victoria (Australia) Australia 37°49′37″S 145°21′10″E / 37.826974°S 145.3528°E
Mississippi College Clinton, Mississippi USA Unknown
Feldkirch Austria Unknown
Erlangen Bavaria Germany 49°35′44″N 11°00′19″E / 49.595552°N 11.005286°E
University of Colorado at Boulder Boulder, Colorado USA 40°00′26″N 105°15′43″W / 40.007360°N 105.261906°W
29th Street Mall Boulder, Colorado USA 40°01′02″N 105°15′21″W / 40.01715°N 105.25585°W
Belmar Shopping Center Lakewood, Colorado USA 39°42′31″N 105°04′39″W / 39.708726°N 105.077594°W
Langenfeld Germany 51°06′35″N 6°56′55″E / 51.109795°N 6.948499°E
Kansas City, Missouri USA 39°03′52″N 94°35′25″W / 39.06434°N 94.590298°W
Railroad Plaza Lansdale, Pennsylvania USA 40°14′35″N 75°17′09″W / 40.243083°N 75.285833°W
Amarillo, Texas USA 35°12′25″N 101°49′51″W / 35.207017°N 101.830733°W
Wellington New Zealand 41°17′26″S 174°46′53″E / 41.290556°S 174.781389°E
Carsington Water Visitor Center Derbyshire England 53°03′37″N 1°38′31″W / 53.060217°N 1.641850°W
Dallas, Texas USA 32°47′10″N 96°47′45″W / 32.786083°N 96.795739°W
Railroad Community Park Santa Paula, California, USA 34°21′21″N 119°03′37″W / 34.35597°N 119.0604°W
Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex Cape Canaveral, Florida USA 28°31′21″N 80°40′52″W / 28.522486°N 80.681198°W
Bloch Cancer Survivors Plaza (park) Columbus, Ohio USA 40°00′26″N 83°01′22″W / 40.007172°N 83.022688°W
The Mall at Tuttle Crossing Columbus, Ohio USA Unknown
COSI Columbus Columbus, Ohio USA Unknown
Holliday Park Nature Center Indianapolis, Indiana USA 39°52′18″N 86°09′41″W / 39.871552°N 86.161384°W
Disneyland Resort Anaheim, California USA 33°48′43″N 117°55′01″W / 33.811818°N 117.917062°W
California Baptist University Riverside, California USA 33°55′48″N 117°25′30″W / 33.93°N 117.425°W
Magic Kingdom Walt Disney World Orlando, Florida USA 28°15′04″N 81°20′51″W / 28.251190°N 81.347540°W
Dundarave West Vancouver, British Columbia Canada 49°20′00″N 123°10′57″W / 49.333258°N 123.182506°W
Coleman-Morse Center Notre Dame, Indiana USA 41°42′03″N 86°14′26″W / 41.700701°N 86.240622°W [4]
Chinatown Victoria, British Columbia Canada 48°25′45″N 123°22′01″W / 48.429117°N 123.366900°W
Nike Campus Beaverton, Oregon USA Unknown
Amtrak Station Bakersfield, California USA 35°22′20″N 119°00′30″W / 35.372101°N 119.008233°W
Square des longs-prés Boulogne-Billancourt, Île de France France 48°49′56″N 2°14′47″E / 48.832248°N 2.24638°E
Casino Grand Cercle Aix-les-Bains France 45°41′20″N 5°54′50″E / 45.68889°N 5.91389°E
Rue de Bretagne Alençon France 48°25′53″N 0°04′38″E / 48.431505°N 0.077226°E
Près-La-Rose natural park Montbéliard France 47°30′21″N 6°48′11″E / 47.50583°N 6.80306°E
Paultons Park Hampshire England 50°56′56″N 1°33′08″W / 50.94887°N 1.552355°W [5]
Parco Commerciale Dora Turin Italy 45°05′15″N 7°40′05″E / 45.087556°N 7.668025°E
The Ripley's Believe It or Not Museum Gatlinburg, Tennessee USA 35°42′41″N 83°31′06″W / 35.711403°N 83.518453°W
The Ripley's Believe It or Not Museum Myrtle Beach, South Carolina USA Unknown
Guinness World Records Museum Niagara Falls, Ontario Canada 43°05′31″N 79°04′34″W / 43.091872°N 79.075985°W
Canyon Visitor Education Center Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming USA 44°44′05″N 110°29′31″W / 44.734717°N 110.491888°W
Rotuaari pedestrian street Oulu Finland Unknown
Milwaukee County Zoo Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA 43°08′03″N 87°57′21″W / 43.134167°N 87.955833°W
San Diego Zoo Safari Park Escondido, California USA 33°05′55″N 116°59′56″W / 33.09866°N 116.99889°W
Henry Doorly Zoo Omaha, Nebraska USA 41°13′31″N 95°55′41″W / 41.225158°N 95.927939°W
Duke Power Charlotte, North Carolina USA Unknown
Oak Court Mall Memphis, Tennessee USA 35°07′02″N 89°54′48″W / 35.117305°N 89.913378°W
Kaggensgatan Pedestrian Street Kalmar Sweden 56°39′42″N 16°21′52″E / 56.661616°N 16.364538°E
Palmengarten Frankfurt am Main Germany Unknown
Casino Velden Velden Austria Unknown
Iowa State Fairgrounds Des Moines, Iowa USA 41°35′44″N 93°33′04″W / 41.595546°N 93.551049°W
Davison Township Police Department Davison, Michigan USA 43°01′38″N 83°33′21″W / 43.027255°N 83.555757°W
Malaya Sadovaya Street Saint Petersburg Russia 59°56′03″N 30°20′15″E / 59.93421°N 30.33744°E
Lausanne Switzerland Unknown
Zürichhorn Zürich Switzerland 47°21′12″N 8°33′07″E / 47.35321°N 8.55182°E
Hämeenpuisto Tampere Finland 61°29′52″N 23°45′07″E / 61.497792°N 23.751926°E
Lyngby Storcenter Lyngby Denmark 55°46′17″N 12°30′21″E / 55.771329°N 12.505888°E
Morton Arboretum Illinois USA 41°48′50″N 88°04′12″W / 41.81393°N 88.06997°W
Casa de las Ciencias A Coruña Spain 43°21′42″N 8°24′50″W / 43.3618°N 8.413951°W
Louisville Zoo Louisville, Kentucky USA 38°12′20″N 85°42′25″W / 38.205438°N 85.707023°W
Somerset Collection Troy, Michigan USA 42°33′41″N 83°11′2″W / 42.56139°N 83.18389°W
Pacific Science Center Seattle, Washington USA 47°37′9″N 122°21′4″W / 47.61917°N 122.35111°W
Temaikèn Park Belén de Escobar, Buenos Aires Province Argentina 34°22′00″S 58°48′16″W / 34.366725°S 58.804462°W
Utah's Hogle Zoo Salt Lake City, Utah USA Unknown
Temple University Philadelphia, Pennsylvania USA 39°58′48″N 75°09′22″W / 39.980071°N 75.156248°W
Lobby of the Radisson Blu Hotel Salwa, Kuwait City Kuwait 29°22′30″N 48°05′14″E / 29.375°N 48.08722°E
Westpark Munich Germany 48°07′23″N 11°31′52″E / 48.122954°N 11.531178°E
W5 Interactive Discovery Centre Belfast Northern Ireland 54°36′14″N 5°54′56″W / 54.603768°N 5.91560°W
ConocoPhillips Campus Houston, Texas USA 29°47′18″N 95°36′49″W / 29.788273°N 95.613542°W
Techniquest Cardiff Wales 51°27′46″N 3°10′05″W / 51.462671°N 3.168174°W
Gilbert, Arizona USA 33°12′47″N 111°28′29″W / 33.21293°N 111.47463°W
Whatcom Community College Bellingham, Washington USA 48°47′43″N 122°29′37″W / 48.79534°N 122.493681°W
Donbass Arena Donetsk Ukraine 48°01′15″N 37°48′34″E / 48.02083°N 37.80944°E
"The Solar System" Tarnów Poland 50°00′30″N 20°58′31″E / 50.008344°N 20.975416°E [6]
"Discovery", Columbus Learning Center Columbus, Indiana USA 39°15′10″N 85°54′08″W / 39.252718°N 85.902096°W [7]
Bengaluru International Airport Terminal Bangalore India 13°11′56″N 77°42′20″E / 13.1989°N 77.7056°E
Fry's Electronics San Marcos, California USA 33°08′14″N 117°11′02″W / 33.13712°N 117.183952°W
Byrkjedalstunet Rogaland Norway 58°46′46″N 6°19′01″E / 58.779475°N 6.317047°E
Tulsa Zoo Tulsa, Oklahoma USA Unknown
The State Botanical Garden of Georgia Athens, Georgia USA 33°54′04″N 83°22′59″W / 33.901103°N 83.383138°W [8]
Canton Ohio Downtown Canton, Ohio USA Unknown Destroyed By Vandals
Centrum of Tjuvholmen Aker brygge Oslo Norway 59°54′34″N 10°43′26″E / 59.909499°N 10.723976°E
McKenzie Park Hermiston, Oregon USA 45°50′22″N 119°17′27″W / 45.839338°N 119.290842°W
Houston Museum of Natural Science Houston, TX USA 29°43′19″N 95°23′25″W / 29.721932°N 95.390239°W
Outside the Bull Inn Bracknell England 51°25′00″N 0°45′03″W / 51.416716°N 0.750762°W [9]
Elon University, Numen Lumen Pavilion Elon, North Carolina USA 36°06′09″N 79°30′08″W / 36.102485°N 79.502274°W Meditation garden

See also

References

  1. ↑ Snoeijer, Jacco H.; van der Weele, Ko (Nov 2014). "Physics of the granite sphere fountain". American Journal of Physics 82 (11): 1029–39.
  2. ↑ Amanda Oaks, Richmond in the Record Books, Richmond.com, 18 August [2004], Retrieved on 18 September 2007
  3. ↑ ReadingEagle.com: Healing garden at Reading Hospital allows visitors to reflect (image caption)
  4. ↑ Notre Dame Magazine Online, Summer 2001, Retrieved on 31 July 2008
  5. ↑ Paultons Park, Summer 2008, Retrieved on 15 June 2009
  6. ↑ Kosmiczna fontanna w Tarnowie już działa, Spring 2011, Retrieved on 5 June 2011 (in Polish)
  7. ↑
  8. ↑ The State Botanical Garden of Georgia: Art in the Garden Retrieved on 30 May 2012
  9. ↑

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Floating stone spheres.