4 Blades Rotating Glass Windmill Solar Powered Crookes Radiometer Light Mill/Educational Teaching Study Tool B

Invented in 1873 by the chemist Sir William Crookes as the by-product of some chemical research, the radiometer is made from a glass bulb from which much of the air has been removed to form a partial vacuum. Inside the bulb, on a low friction spindle, is a rotor with several (usually four) vertical metal vanes spaced equally around the axis. The vanes are polished or white on one side and black on the other. When exposed to sunlight, artificial light, or infrared radiation (even the heat of a hand nearby can be enough), the vanes turn with no apparent motive power, the dark sides retreating from the radiation source and the light sides advancing. Just place under a direct incandescent light only rotates in light (sunlight or incandescent light). The shine on the globe the faster the vanes rotates.