Tensegrity Table

Tensegrity Table: a top that floats on tension alone

Look at it from the side and the tabletop seems to hover, the base and the top linked only by slack-looking chains. Push down and it holds. Push harder and it still holds. The trick is that there is no trick: one central chain is under tension while the outer chains stop the top from tipping, and the whole thing stays in equilibrium. Buckminster Fuller called it tensegrity, tensional integrity, and it is the same idea behind suspension bridges and some of the boldest buildings in the world.

A wooden tensegrity sculpture for the desk

This small version is made of stained wood with metal chains and comes ready to display. It works as a stand for a plant, a candle or a favorite object, but most people simply leave it empty so that the illusion stays visible. On a desk, a bookshelf or a console table it is the object visitors pick up, turn over and photograph. Assembly, if needed, takes a few minutes and requires no tools.

A gift for people who want to know how things work

Engineers, architects, physics teachers, design lovers: anyone who enjoys a puzzle they can stare at. It also makes an unusual desk gift for a colleague who already has every gadget. Is it stable? Yes, as long as the chains stay taut. Give it a nudge and it wobbles, then settles back, which is half the fun.

Tensegrity Table: specifications

• Materials: wood, metal chains
• Principle: tensegrity (compression and tension in equilibrium), no magnets
• Use: decorative stand, desk sculpture, physics demonstration
• Assembly: minimal, no tools
• Gift idea for engineers, architects and science lovers

Create a sensation with a Cool Gadget in your home

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