Hovering trick in the air. Levitation Secrets - Can You Really Fly Through the Air? Swallowed Needle Chain

As a child, we did not think about how circus tricks are arranged - we just believed in them. Surprising an adult is much more difficult, it is not enough just to get a rabbit out of a hat. Illusionists like David Copperfield and David Blaine work in this field - and then we observe levitation, the disappearance of the Statue of Liberty, and other impressive tricks. Sometimes magicians reveal their secrets - and it turns out that there is a perfectly reasonable explanation for each trick.

1. Classics of the genre: cutting a woman in half
The assistant climbs into a long, coffin-like box. Then the magician announces that now he will cut this lady in half right in the box - and he successfully does it without any harm to her health!

There are several ways to accomplish this trick. The classic method, described in 1923, is shown in the picture below.

The box is actually a secret, it's enough for the assistant to curl her legs. And in the role of the severed legs are fake ones (they were controlled with the help of a special mechanism to imitate movement). Therefore, they must have shoes on in order to close them as much as possible.

And this is a more modern way, when not one assistant is involved in the focus, but two. It's just that one is hidden in advance in a drawer. After the "sawing" one smiles, and the second moves her legs.

2. Levitation
The trick begins with the assistant lying down on the table in front of the magician. The crowd gasps in surprise as the magician suddenly clears the table and the woman continues to float in the air.

The assistant helping to perform this trick is usually dressed in a long flowing dress with which the magician conceals the real magic: a mechanical "levitation" device that is attached to the magician and with which he holds the assistant. And then sleight of hand comes into play: in order to distract the viewer's attention, the magician takes out a hoop and begins to hold it, showing that nothing is supposedly attached to the woman's body.

3. Levitation of street fakirs

It would seem that if he actually levitates, why would he need a staff?

And this staff is all about: it is a very strong structure that holds the secret platform on which the person sits.

Here's how it works.

4. Michael Jackson's tilt
Remember that unreal 45-degree bend that Michael Jackson and his dancers did? They wore special shoes with a heel of a special shape: at the right moment, pegs appeared on the surface of the stage, for which the heel caught.

Here you can see how it works

5. The most famous trick of all time: pulling a rabbit out of a hat
A rabbit can hardly be hidden in a hat, but where does it come from then? There is probably a simple explanation.

Well, there are three ways to hide a rabbit:
1) In a countersunk hole in the table. When the magician puts down his hat, he aligns it with the secret door.
2) He's really wearing a hat! But the hat has a clever flap.

3) In a linen bag suspended from the edge of the table and covered with a tablecloth with a long fringe.
While the magician shows the crowd that the hat is completely empty, the rabbit is hidden under the table. The hard part begins when you lift your hat and hide the bunny underneath.

6. Zigzag Girl

To perform this trick, first of all, you need a skilled assistant, because her task is to correctly position herself in a cramped closet. It is necessary to position yourself in such a way that the face, hand and foot retain the natural position of an erect person, and the audience does not suspect anything.

7. David Copperfield's trick with the disappearance of the Statue of Liberty

In 1983, David Copperfield convinced a crowd of spectators for a few minutes that the Statue of Liberty was gone. He did this trick once and never did it again.

Disappearance of the Statue of Liberty
There are two towers in front of the Statue of Liberty. Against the background of the night sky, a brightly lit Statue is visible, a mark from it is visible on the radar. A veil rises on the towers, David closes the radar with himself, the veil falls - the statue has disappeared, only the ring of lights around it is visible. The radar marker also disappears. The veil rises and falls again - the statue appeared as if nothing had happened.

There are several conjectures as to how this was done.

a) Turntable

The audience did not notice this, but their seats were located on a giant rotating platform. After looking at the statue at the very beginning, they were slowly turned to the point where it was no longer visible. How did they miss the rotation? Everything happened at night, the statue is located on an island, there are no particular markings there.

b) Light curtain
At the appointed moment, the stand-alone lighting of the statue turned off. Only 2 searchlights, crossing behind the towers, and spotlights on the towers, dazzling the audience and preventing them from seeing anything in detail, remained on the island. In fact, the spotlights did not illuminate the statue, but were directed upward and away from it.

c) Statement
That is, simply a deception, a hoax, and in the role of spectators - hired actors. Skeptics tend to take this view.

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It's hard to believe, but the most spectacular and inexplicable tricks have a clue on the surface.

We are in site carefully looked at the well-known tricks and are ready to expose them.

10. Disappearance of the Statue of Liberty

In 1983, David Copperfield made the Statue of Liberty disappear. The secret of the trick is easy to explain. The monument was covered with a cloth and turned off its backlight, leaving the spotlights on that created the illusion of emptiness and dazzled the audience. After the veil fell, people were unable to make out the contours of the statue in the dark, as their vision did not have time to adapt.

9. The disappearance of the truck

How to make a truck covered with cloth (a carriage or an airplane) disappear if spectators surround it in a ring? Easily! You just need attach the bedspread to a special structure to keep it in place, invite rogue observers and take the truck to the back room... Therefore, we can only see this trick on TV and never live.

8. Levitation

A person frozen in the air is not a magician or a yogi. Under the layers of the magician's clothes the support is hidden, thanks to which you can hang for several hours in a row without getting tired.

7. Passing through the mirror

To get through the mirror, the magician needs special screens with slits in the middle. The one that attaches to the back of the mirror contains two mirror panels. The design allows move the real mirror, putting in its place two fake, and crawl through the hole. At the end of the trick, the assistants put the real mirror in place.

6. Converting a bill

To turn $ 1 into $ 100, magician folds a note of lesser denomination in a special way and hides behind the fingers. Then, in the process of focus, he replaces one bill with another, demonstrating a wonderful transformation.

5. Walking on water

The trick is performed in a pond with muddy water or in a pool where people swim and create waves. The main purpose is to divert attention and hide from cameras a transparent platform on which the illusionist walks.

4. Release from chains under water

The secret of the trick lies in the physical preparation of the magician and in the castles. Assistants' task is imperceptible pull the rods out of the hinges holding the locks, and the illusionist - to strain, to wriggle out of the fetters and get out of the water tank.

3. Recovering a signed card

Levitation is such an impressive, spectacular and mysterious phenomenon that it is one of the most popular acts in the field of illusionism. It is no coincidence that the focus with levitation is often one of the highlights of the program of all kinds of illusionists. Meanwhile, in this case, the secret of levitation has long been revealed and does not represent a big secret. So almost everyone can make small objects float in the air or even rise above the ground, if desired and with a certain skill.

Levitation of cigarettes and other objects - watch your hands

"Amazing" flights of certain things have recently become quite popular on the Internet. It is no coincidence that the number of articles and videos that reveal the secret of the trick is growing - levitation of a map, cork, paper clip, cigarettes and much more that will turn at the arm of people. One of the most common examples is a weightless or flying cigarette, which is capable of independently jumping into a smoker's mouth and doing other aerobatics.

The secret of levitation of a cigarette is extremely simple: to implement it, you will need a nylon thread, scotch tape and a certain manual dexterity.

The nylon thread of the desired color (if the focus is on a dark background - black, if on a light background - flesh) is removed from ordinary stockings. It is then attached to the cigarette with tape. The length of the thread is adjustable according to the circumstances. The other end of the thread is tied to the magician's hand, and the thread itself is thrown over the neck. Thus, a "mechanism" is obtained that operates on the principle of tug of war - with the help of the movements of the hand to which the thread is tied, a person can imitate the flight of a cigarette, which can go up and down, move in different directions or freeze in place. The trick with a cigarette that flies right into the mouth of an illusionist requires training and dexterity, but there is nothing fantastic or mystical about it either.

Another trick with levitation, available at home and therefore quite common, is the flying paperclip. This spectacle looks like this: in front of the audience, a person ties a paper clip (or other small and not heavy metal object) with a thread. Then he hangs it up, takes out matches or a lighter and sets fire to the thread. The thread burns out - and the paper clip, meanwhile, continues to hang in the air. The magician can even make her move in different directions, rise or fall. The focus is really bright enough - and surprisingly simple at the same time. It's all about the thread, which has been pre-treated with a strong saline solution. The salt concentration must be very high - there must be so much of it that it no longer dissolves. Then a thread is placed in this solution for about a day, which should then dry completely and evenly. When, in the course of the trick, the illusionist burns the thread, the paper clip remains suspended, but now on a chain of salt crystals that have not suffered from the fire, but are invisible to the viewer.

Yogi Levitation Secret: Dexterity and Technique

Indian yogis are traditionally famous for their unique, in some ways even supernatural abilities. Moreover, disputes have not subsided for a long time, which is more in the amazing skills of yogis - the jewelry art of illusionists perfected for centuries and millennia or really secret occult knowledge. Many of the abilities of yogis are recognized as phenomenal even by representatives of modern science. But some of the techniques by which yogis and people posing as yogis boggle our imagination are clearly related to magic tricks.

Usually it is with yogis that the secret of focus is associated with human levitation. The most common yogic option for a person in a weightless flight above the ground is as follows. The yogi sits on the ground in the lotus position, holding a cane in his hand. Then he puts the cane on the ground, and he begins to slowly rise above this very ground, until he reaches a height equal to the length of the cane. In this position, swaying somewhat, the yogi can stay for quite a long time, although usually only a couple of minutes are enough to make an indelible impression on others. In fact, this focus requires some technical equipment. A wooden or metal seat is hidden in the wide folds of oriental robes that yogis wear. In an invisible way for the viewer, it is fastened to a cane, which, in turn, is dug into the ground. Thus, the yogi does not float above the ground, he actually sits above the ground, balancing on a secret seat.

Focus Secret: Human Levitation Depends on Point of View

The performances of professional illusionists, in which tricks with human levitation are performed on a specially equipped stage, are almost always associated with strong invisible cables. With these cables, a person is attached to supports on the ceiling, they are mobile and mobile enough that a person can be moved and turned in space. But if levitation a person is demonstrated by an amateur magician for his friends and acquaintances, a much simpler method is used.

It is associated with the ability to use the optical features of human vision, the dexterity of a magician and the specifics of spectator perception.

This focus will require wide pants to hide the shape of your legs and a certain amount of time to train. The workout should allow the person to rise on one toes and maintain balance while the other leg is completely above the surface and obscures the first leg. The focus itself needs to be shown in a specific setting: the stage should be located on a dais so that the audience can observe the focus at an angle of 45 degrees. It is in this case that it will seem to them that the person has really taken off the ground and they will not notice the second leg standing still. At the same time, especially attentive observers will still notice the trick. Therefore, the duration of "levitation" should not exceed a few seconds, there should not be many spectators, they should be positioned a few meters from the stage and in no case should they be warned about what kind of trick they will see now.

Alexander Babitsky

Among the many tricks demonstrated by illusionists of different levels, one of the most shocking is the levitation trick. Indeed, there is little that can strike the minds of viewers more than the spectacle of a card, a rose, or even a person overcoming gravity and floating freely in the air.

The secret to levitation lies in careful preparation of the show, manual dexterity and lengthy training. Depending on the complexity, the tools required for focus can be limited to a transparent nylon thread or copper coin, or they can be complex mechanisms and devices. Therefore, before levitating an object, you need to think about what exactly you intend to lift into the air, how many spectators you will have, and what devices you need to perform the trick.

Bill Levitation Trick: Solution

This trick is best suited for the beginning illusionist. It is quite simple and practically does not require preparation, but the audience will no doubt be amazed at the sight of the bill balancing, contrary to all the laws of physics, on the magician's finger. At the same time, the main part of the bill hangs freely in the air, swaying in time with the movements of the magician's hand.

In order to impress your friends with this performance, you only need a banknote of any denomination and a metal coin. And, of course, sleight of hand. Take a coin and hold it firmly between your palm and the base of your ring finger. So you will be able to use other fingers without risking dropping it, and the audience will not see your "cache" from the side. You can take any coin - the main thing is that it is more or less heavy.

Now take the bill and show it to the public to prove it is real. You can allow the audience to touch or even hold it - this will not affect the outcome of the focus.

Having received the money back in your hands, carefully fold the bill three times in length. The main difficulty of this stage is to discreetly insert the coin hidden in your palm between the paper folds. To achieve this, you will have to practice a little in front of the mirror.

After that, you just have to place the folded banknote on your finger so that the coin on the edge balances its length. To achieve greater effect, you can balance a little with a bill or make a few mysterious passes with your free hand.

The secret of rose levitation

Rose levitation has always been considered one of the most beautiful and romantic tricks. The illusionist takes a real flower or a flower folded from a napkin, and that, obeying a slight wave of his hand, rises into the air. The rose seems to float completely free, the audience does not see any supporting threads or other devices for levitation.

Despite the unusualness, it is quite possible to learn how to do the trick with rose levitation on your own. In order to repeat it, you will need to prepare the following items:

• Thin invisible thread (you can order it - inexpensively) or fishing line;
• small button;
• needle or tape;
• flower.

Gently attach the string to your flower. For the greatest aesthetics, it is worth finding the center of gravity of the rose so that its flight looks more natural. Tie the second end of the thread to a button, which will then need to be sewn to the collar of your clothes. Now you need to figure out what to pass the main part of the thread through. It can be thrown over a hook from a chandelier, a tree branch, if you are on the street, or simply stretch it over your own head, throwing a free loop over the fingers of one of your hands. You should not tie the end of the thread to your fingers: in this case, any attentive viewer will be able to notice the dependence of the rose's movements on your gestures.

So you can control the flight of your flower with light movements of your fingers and head. Of course, during stage performances, illusionists have the opportunity to use much more complex devices, which allows them to make the flight of a rose intricate and completely unusual. If you want to make your focus more spectacular, then you should think about the system of blocks through which you pass the thread and, thanks to this, you will be able to move the levitated object not only vertically, but also to the sides.

If you decide to impress your friends with your abilities, do not forget that the success of the trick depends largely on how beautiful and mysterious your actions will look. You can accompany the flight of the rose with spells or mysterious gestures, or, conversely, limit yourself to only light nods of the head. You can even pass the "magic flower" through the hoop or hold your palm over it; of course, only if you practice well alone and learn not to touch the line during the performance.

Learning to levitate is not as difficult as it might seem at first glance. For example, one of the ways can be seen in this video:

Once you have mastered the rose levitation trick, you can repeat it with any other small and light enough object - for example, a cigarette or a card.

Human levitation: deception or illusion?

Illusionists have always spent a lot of effort on the development of new, more and more shocking tricks, among which one of the most difficult, by right, is considered the independent flight of people.

The secret of focus with human levitation lies primarily in distracting tricks that prevent viewers from seeing what the person is using to rise into the air. Since it is impossible to stay in the air without a propeller or anti-gravity device, magicians have to invent all kinds of devices for levitation. An example of such a trick can be seen in a short video by the Safronov brothers, where they revealed one of their secrets.

In tricks of this type, the main role is played by a special mechanism controlled by the magician himself or his assistant and slowly lifting the lying person. It is for this reason that for most stage tricks with levitation, a veil is used, which hides not only the person himself, but also the apparatus that allows him to "take off".

Much more amazement of the public is caused by the flights of the magician himself, who seems to soar completely independently, not supported by anything. The tricks of David Copperfield have always been especially popular, who not only soared over the stage, but also flew through rotating hoops and transparent boxes. The solution to this "magic" lies in the multitude of the thinnest invisible cables and boxes with slots, into which the cables enter during the "captivity". But, of course, the main condition for a successful trick with levitation was and remains the lightness and artistry of the magician himself.

How to do the levitation trick yourself

It is almost impossible to repeat the achievements of David Copperfield or the Safronov brothers at home - unless, of course, you are a genius mechanic who can create a levitation machine from scrap materials. However, there are many other, much simpler ways to convince viewers of their levitation abilities. The most accessible of them lies in optical illusion, which any person can master. In this case, you do not even have to take off: it will be enough to convince others of this.

To implement the focus, you only need 2 things:

• Worn-out shoes without laces, several sizes larger than your foot;
• wide pants;

The secret of this focus is, first of all, in choosing the right place for focus. The audience, regardless of their number, should see only one of your legs: the success of your trick depends on this. The best location is 2-3 meters from the audience.

Having prepared for the trick, you need to carefully, so as not to attract attention, remove the leg hidden from the public from the shoe. It is on it that you will rely on during the "flight". Now begin to slowly rise on tiptoe while lowering your hands down or reciting "incantations." It is better to press the released shoes to the second leg so that it "rises" with you and at the same time hides the supporting leg. If you do everything correctly, the audience will see how you smoothly take off a few centimeters above the floor and, after hovering for a few seconds, just smoothly descend back.

It is important! It is much easier to do such a trick with an assistant who, at the right moment, supposedly casually passes you by, and for a moment closes your actions from the public.

You can watch the video teaching the focus "levitation" in this video:

The human levitation trick requires patience and a lot of practice in front of a mirror. In order for it to be more effective, it is worth remembering a few small tricks:

• Do not warn the audience in advance about the focus; otherwise, they may look closely and unravel your mystery.
• The easiest way is to demonstrate levitation in a semi-dark room or with light music on, which will hide some of the nuances of the presentation.
• Do not stay in the air for more than 4 seconds.
• Make sure your audience is looking at you at an angle of approximately 45 ° and no one is standing behind you.

More tricks: