This is pretty clever. The major improvements I'd want to make are some sort of RFID chip that deactivates the magnet when I'm close enough, instead of a fingerprint scanner. It seems like anyone who gets close enough can see the scanner, so I'd prefer to have something more invisible.<p>And the second thing would be just to improve the lag time between grasping the handle and the deactivation of the magnet, so I can just lean down and casually grab it, instead of having to hold it for a second before bringing it up. The more magic, the better.<p>Still, this is pretty awesome!
Cool idea, terrible acting. I feel like the "wow" factor in his audience was really killed by the awkward way he made it look like he was pushing a button and waiting for something to happen, instead of struggling to "lift" the hammer while he waited for the thumbprint to register.
I was hoping that instead of magnets, it would just be extremely heavy, and be able to activate an internal gyroscopic system to do something like this: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GeyDf4ooPdo" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GeyDf4ooPdo</a><p>It'd be pretty hard to fit all that in a small package though, and probably dangerous.
Instead of a thumbprint, he should have used a bracelet with an rfid chip, much faster response time and his hand could have been anywhere on the handle.<p>Or just inject the rfid chip under your finger.
In 'The Illusionist', the magician Eisenheim did a similar trick to Crown Prince Leopold, except it was King Arthur's sword in the stone.
Magician Robert-Houdin performed this trick in 1846 (without the fingerprint reader) [1]<p>He used the "Light and Heavy Chest" to demonstrate his ability to remove the strength of men for political ends.<p>[1] <a href="http://www.themagicdetective.com/2012/05/politics-magic-and-wooden-chest.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.themagicdetective.com/2012/05/politics-magic-and-...</a>
I'd have picked a different legend: the sword in the stone is more similar to how this works, the sword can be wielded by anyone after the king pulls it out of the stone, and this hammer can be wielded by anyone after the engineer pulls if off of the magnet. Thor's hammer can only be wielded by him, ever.<p>But it's still awesome.
Neat project.<p>I can't help but wonder if you could beat the magnet by kicking the handle sideways, the strong impact multiplied by the lever force might be enough to beat it.
This is really neat. I wonder if there is the possibility of using a similar magnet set-up as a lock? I worry about my motorcycle being stolen since it is so easy to pick up and most locks can be broken, if I had an electro-magnet like this one it might be much harder to steal.