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The Effect

From the mind of William J. Schmeelk comes this gravity-defying miracle. A brass weight is dropped through an aluminum tube. It rockets through, falling into the spectator's hand. So far, so good.

But, at the magician's command, the weight drops through the tube in slow motion - like an astronaut bounding across the moon! The weight can be clearly seen floating through the tube!

Furthermore, the brass weight can be seen floating through the tube - even while the trick is in the package, making this a virtually self-performing miracle!

Newton's Nightmare is a delight to perform, and easy enough for any aspiring sorcerer - or scientist - to master.

Where from?

I bought mine from Penguin UK.

How much?

About 7 pounds or 10 euros, depending on the value of the dollar.

What you get

A metal weight, a sw**ch, and a tube painted blue with holes in it.

Skill required

Absolutely none at all. Okay, there's a sw**ch involved.

My opinion

The effect is simple, the results are simple. It would take either a very poor presentation to mess it up, or a badly made prop.

In this case, it's a badly made prop.

I don't want to give the secret away (which is not secret in the sense that the trick is really a demonstration of a well-known scientific phenomenon), but let me just say that the people who made the sw**ch were evidently not in contact with the ones who made the "weight." They are not similar enough for close up work unless you constantly sw**ch one for the other.

Owing in part to the above defect the trick will not go on for very long unless you come up with some twist of your own.

How to make it better

Again, forum rules don't allow me to be very explicit, but I can say that if you use your M5 you can keep the weight from falling out at all, or drop on your command. You can even get the weight to reverse a little way up the tube, roll around in your hand, jump around the table, etc., from a wonderful distance. If you therefore "remove the gravity" from the tube in the first phase of the routine, you can play around with the special effect for longer.

Tell me more about that weight!

Here's a cracker:

Why did the midget not head for the M5?*

Because he had a little weight to carry.



*The M5 is also a British motorway.

It's actually aluminium not copper and I'd disagree that it uses a well known scientific principle. I'd say it was little known, in fact very little known.

It also sounds to me like you have a very poor version, as I've seen a couple of dozen Newton's nightmares and all have been much better than the one you describe.

My message doesn't say copper. I changed it minutes after I posted it. Either you didn't refresh the screen or were commenting from memory.

I've discussed the sw**** problem with several people who also have Newton's Nightmare and they agree with me about the defect, so I can't be the only one. I have also see people remark on this at the Magic Café, and at the Penguin site where I bought it. In fact, it's a totally natural problem. One is machined, one is plated. One has rounded edges, one has sharply cut edges. There is no easy way around the difference, these items were manufactured in different ways.

I could have added the disclaimer "My review is based on the item I received personally, maybe yours is a better one" but it would go against my knowledge of the item to date.

As far as the scientific principle is concerned, okay, I learnt about it at school, maybe not everyone did. But the bottom line is that the apparatus has leapt from the classroom to the magic shop.

As they say, if you want to keep something secret, keep it in a book.

Anyway, the trick is interesting, visually attractive and fun. Yet the props have uses going beyond Newtons Nightmare, and if you modify the routine with PK you get much more out of it.

Maybe you have seen different versions of Newton's Nightmare. Mine is the one currently available from all magic shops at the price stated.

I didn't refresh the screen.

As to the differences between the 2, I'm not going on my own I actually sell Newtons Nightmare.

Now I agree if you put the 2 side by side it is possible t spot a difference, however the spec only sees one at a time and I've yet to have a spec spot the difference.