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A kugel fountain (also called a floating sphere fountain or by the
File:Kugel June 24 2021.jpg, World globe, Jack C. Taylor Conference Center of the
Kugel fountain FAQ
Terracache dedicated to the kugel fountain.
Waymarking list of large kugel fountains, with GPS coordinates and images.
Balls Fountains Garden ornaments Outdoor sculptures
A kugel fountain (also called a floating sphere fountain or by the pleonasm
Pleonasm (; , ) is redundancy in linguistic expression, such as "black darkness", "burning fire", "the man he said", or "vibrating with motion". It is a manifestation of tautology by traditional rhetorical criteria. Pleonasm may also be used f ...
ic name kugel ball) is a water feature
In landscape architecture and garden design, a water feature is one or more items from a range of fountains, jeux d'eau, pools, ponds, rills, artificial waterfalls, and streams. Before the 18th century they were usually powered by gravity ...
or sculpture where a sphere
A sphere (from Ancient Greek, Greek , ) is a surface (mathematics), surface analogous to the circle, a curve. In solid geometry, a sphere is the Locus (mathematics), set of points that are all at the same distance from a given point in three ...
sits in a fitted hollow in a pedestal, and is supported by aquaplaning
Aquaplaning or hydroplaning by the tires of a road vehicle, aircraft or other wheeled vehicle occurs when a layer of water builds between the wheels of the vehicle and the road surface, leading to a loss of traction that prevents the vehicle ...
on a thin film of water. Pressurized water flows between the sphere and socket, creating a mechanical hydrostatic bearing that is nearly frictionless. The sphere can weigh thousands of kilograms, but the efficient bearing allows it to be spun by the force of a hand. The sphere does not float, being denser than water; it is often made from granite
Granite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phanerite, phaneritic) intrusive rock, intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly coo ...
. The hydraulics of the fountain can be controlled so that the axis of rotation
Rotation or rotational/rotary motion is the circular movement of an object around a central line, known as an ''axis of rotation''. A plane figure can rotate in either a clockwise or counterclockwise sense around a perpendicular axis intersect ...
of the sphere changes continually. Ring sculptures that rotate on an axis
An axis (: axes) may refer to:
Mathematics
*A specific line (often a directed line) that plays an important role in some contexts. In particular:
** Coordinate axis of a coordinate system
*** ''x''-axis, ''y''-axis, ''z''-axis, common names ...
are also built.
Kugel fountains can be found all over the world. Many are at popular tourist destinations, such as science museums, shopping centers, lobbies, and gardens.
is the German word for ''ball
A ball is a round object (usually spherical, but sometimes ovoid) with several uses. It is used in ball games, where the play of the game follows the state of the ball as it is hit, kicked or thrown by players. Balls can also be used for s ...
'' or ''sphere
A sphere (from Ancient Greek, Greek , ) is a surface (mathematics), surface analogous to the circle, a curve. In solid geometry, a sphere is the Locus (mathematics), set of points that are all at the same distance from a given point in three ...
''.
Locations of kugel fountains
Notes
Gallery
United States Naval Institute
The United States Naval Institute (USNI) is a private non-profit military association that offers independent, nonpartisan forums for debate of national security issues. In addition to publishing magazines and books, the Naval Institute holds s ...
, Annapolis
Annapolis ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of Maryland. It is the county seat of Anne Arundel County and its only incorporated city. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east o ...
File:Reaching for the Stars.jpg, Celestial globe
Celestial globes show the apparent positions of the stars in the sky. They omit the Sun, Moon, and planets because the positions of these bodies vary relative to those of the stars, but the ecliptic, along which the Sun moves, is indicated.
...
, weighing nine tons, being spun by a child at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex.
File:Kugel Ball in Lansdale.jpg, Lansdale station, Railroad Plaza, Lansdale, Pennsylvania
Lansdale is a Borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is a densely populated commuter town, with many residents traveling daily to Philadelphia using SEPTA Regional Rail's Lansdale/Doylestown Line. I ...
File:Malta - Sliema - Triq It-Torri - floating sphere fountain 01 ies.ogv, Sliema
Sliema ( ) is a town located on the northeast coast of Malta in the Districts of Malta#Northern Harbour District, Northern Harbour District. It is a major residential and commercial area and a centre for shopping, bars, dining, and café life. ...
, Malta
Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...
File:Bottrop - Kirchplatz - Kugelbrunnen 02 (0) ies.ogv, The Kirchplatz fountain in Bottrop
Bottrop () is a city in west-central Germany, on the Rhine–Herne Canal, in North Rhine-Westphalia. Located in the Ruhr area, Ruhr industrial area, Bottrop adjoins Essen, Oberhausen, Gladbeck, and Dorsten. The city had been a coal-mining and ...
, Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
, with pigeon
File:Kugel fountain dueren germany.jpg, Kugel fountain in Dueren, Germany
File:Wuppertal Willy-Brandt-Platz 2014 016.webm, The transplanted Döppersberger Brunnen in its new location in the Willy-Brandt-Platz in Wuppertal
Wuppertal (; ) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, in western Germany, with a population of 355,000. Wuppertal is the seventh-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia and List of cities in Germany by population, 17th-largest in Germany. It ...
, Germany
See also
*Aquaplaning
Aquaplaning or hydroplaning by the tires of a road vehicle, aircraft or other wheeled vehicle occurs when a layer of water builds between the wheels of the vehicle and the road surface, leading to a loss of traction that prevents the vehicle ...
* Fluid bearing
Fluid bearings are bearing (mechanical), bearings in which the load is supported by a thin layer of rapidly moving pressurized liquid or gas between the bearing surfaces. Since there is no contact between the moving parts, there is no sliding fr ...
* Lubrication theory
In fluid dynamics, lubrication theory describes the flow of fluids (liquids or gases) in a geometry in which one dimension is significantly smaller than the others. An example is the flow above air hockey tables, where the thickness of the air ...
* Stone ball
In archaeology, a stone ball or petrosphere (from Ancient Greek, Greek πέτρα (''petra''), "stone", and σφαῖρα (''sphaira''), "ball") is the name for any spherical man-made object of any size that is composed of stone. These mainly pr ...
* Stone spheres of Costa Rica
The stone spheres of Costa Rica are an assortment of over 300 Stone ball, petrospheres in Costa Rica, on the Diquís Delta and on Isla del Caño. Locally, they are also known as (). The spheres are commonly attributed to the extinct Diquís cult ...
References
External links
* {{cite journal , last1=Snoeijer , first1=Jacco H. , last2=der Weele , first2=Ko van , title=Physics of the granite sphere fountain , journal=American Journal of Physics , date=November 2014 , volume=82 , issue=11 , pages=1029–1039 , doi=10.1119/1.4886365 , url=http://stilton.tnw.utwente.nl/people/snoeijer/Papers/2014/SnoeijerAJP14.pdf, bibcode=2014AmJPh..82.1029SKugel fountain FAQ
Terracache dedicated to the kugel fountain.
Waymarking list of large kugel fountains, with GPS coordinates and images.
Balls Fountains Garden ornaments Outdoor sculptures