Ring of Five Toy

There are quite a few versions of this toy, and we know they were made as long ago as the 1960s, but it is possible that they are much older than this.

Tim has a version called Ring of Five, but it is currently available in toy shops as the Gyro-Ring. It is also known as the Jitter Ring, or the Chatter Ring.

Essentially there are 5 little rings or discs (one seems to have got lost or broken on this version!) threaded onto a larger, solid hoop. This version is plastic, but there are also metal versions. You set the little discs spinning, normally with a flick of your thumb, and you then keep them spinning by rotating the large ring.

There is some interesting physics going on here, but essentially the rings are like little spinning tops, and the contact point between the little rings and the main hoop acts as a kind of gear, converting the upward movement of the hoop into the circular movement of the discs.

Once you have the little rings spinning away, there are even tricks you can perform with this toy!