The Magician's Own Book, or, the Whole Art of Conjuring / Being a complete hand-book of parlor magic, and containing over one thousand optical, chemical, mechanical, magnetical, and magical experiments, amusing transmutations, astonishing sleights and subtleties, celebrated card deceptions, ingenious tricks with numbers, curious and entertaining puzzles, together with all the most noted tricks of modern performers.

by George Arnold; Frank Cahill

The true explanation is this:

1. The wheel when at rest, may of course be easily moved about so as to alter the position of its axis, in any direction. But this is not so when it is made to spin rapidly; if the ring is held in the hands, the wheel will be found strongly to resist any side or twisting movement—so much so, that a novice will start, and almost let it drop, supposing there is something alive in it or, as they sometimes remark; "Why! it feels as if there was a snake in the wheel!" This is owing to nothing but the strong momentum of the lead rim (already described) tending to keep the wheel in its position; for an attempt to alter its position, throws all this swiftly flying matter into a different course, which, it is evident, cannot easily be done.

2. The slowly revolving, horizontal motion on the pivot at A is in a contrary direction to the spinning motion of the top of the wheel, as the arrows show in Fig. 1. In other words, the forward portion of the wheel flies upwards, and the back portion downwards. This will be found to be always the case.

3. Now, when the wheel is moving on horizontally around the pivot at a, the forward portion of the rim is continually moving to the left, and the hinder portion to the right, as represented in Fig. 2. The combined motion of the forward part of the wheel both upward and to the left, is therefore not perpendicularly upward, but inclined to the left, and the tendency of its momentum is to throw the top of the wheel also to the left. In the same way, the downward momentum behind throws the bottom to the right. Throwing the top to the left and the bottom to the right, of course raises the wheel as it rests on the pivot A. In other words, the combined motion of the wheel on its axis, and on the pivot A, constantly tends to raise it, thus overcoming gravity, and maintaining the wheel in its position, supported only at one end.

Fig. 2

4. The momentum of the lead rim, as described in (1.) tending to keep the wheel in its position, keeps it also in a uniformly horizontal attitude; if placed by the hand, inclining upwards, it will move around on the pivot at a, without altering this inclination; or the same result takes place, if inclined below the horizontal.

5. The reason of the forward horizontal movement, is this: the spinning force of the wheel tends to throw it to the left, and consequently to lift it upwards, as shown in (3.)—gravity, on the opposite hand, tends to draw it downward; the resultant (or mid-way) motion is therefore between them, or horzontally. As a proof that gravity thus produces the onward movement—when the wheel spins with the greatest rapidity, and consequently has the greatest relative force to gravity, the horizontal movement is slowest; but it continues constantly to increase as the motion of the wheel is retarded, and as gravity assumes a greater proportionate force.

THE ARTIFICIAL LANDSCAPE.

Procure a box, as in cut, of about a foot long, eight inches wide, and six inches high, or any other dimensions you please, so they do not greatly vary from these proportions. At each of its opposite ends, on the inside of this box, place a piece of looking-glass, that shall exactly fit; but at that end where the sight hole A is, scrape the quicksilver off the glass, through which the eye can view the objects.