Black hole in a bottle
Watch how it’s made on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/DcmcTe-tg4j/
Fantasy Prop
About
Truthfully, it was never my intention to make this prop the way it ended up. I initially wanted this to be a part of a 3-piece containment, each vial having a different unusual substance. Ferrofluid was going to be in the first vial sandwiched between glycerin and ISO alcohol with a hidden electromagnet that could be triggered to make it move. I tested dozens of miniature flasks, trying to get the ferrofluid to float in the middle, but I never could get it to stay in the center and it would always drift away and get stuck to one of the sides.
On one of my iterations, I decided to throw a magnet into the vial with it to see how it would respond to magnets outside of the vial and while disappointed at the simplicity, I did notice that it was spherical. I decided at that point that I was going to get it to float by hanging it, and it was then a matter of how I was going to achieve that effect.
My first concept actually used a PMMA acrylic rod - a thick fiberglass strand. I wanted to see if I could push light through the strand and give it an illuminated ring. Ferrofluid was of course, too dark, and the PMMA had a tendency to stain, so I abandoned the idea and moved on to strings. My wife had surprised me years ago with a crystal-themed birthday and used magician’s wire to suspend it from the ceiling, and that was my inspiration for hanging the magnet.
It worked, and the first video I recorded of it edited well enough that I was expecting it to do pretty well - for me at the time, this meant a few thousand views.
Materials Used
5oz Potion Bottle with Cork
99.5% Glycerin
Ferrofluid
Large magnet (32mm x 5mm)
2 small magnets (6mm x 3mm)
Magicians Thread
Superglue
Silicone Caulk
Affiliate Links for the Materials
These are links to the exact materials I used. They are affiliate links and I may earn commission on qualifying purchases.
Magic Seasons 5oz Potion Bottles: https://link.amazon/B023JGVvM
CMS Magnetics Ferrofluid Kit (comes with large magnet): https://link.amazon/B09L6dRJH
Freskaro Glycerin: https://link.amazon/B05QfHi0Q
Magicians Thread: https://link.amazon/B03lbPo9J
Super Glue: https://link.amazon/B088eeCRt
Silicone Caulk: https://link.amazon/B0icHu1D1
Small Magnets: https://us.store.bambulab.com/products/round-magnet (this one isn’t affiliate, I use maker supply for a lot of miscellaneous maker parts)
