Magnus gliders are spinning toys displaying spectacular looped trajectories when launched at large velocity. These trajectories originate from the large amplitude of the Magnus force due to translational velocities of a few meters per second combined with a backspin of a few hundred radians per seconds. In this article, we analyse the trajectories of Magnus gliders built from paper cups, easily reproducible in the laboratory. We highlight an analogy between the trajectory of the glider and the trajectory of charged particles in crossed electric and magnetic fields. The influence of the initial velocity and the initial backspin on the trajectories is analyzed using high speed imaging. The features of these trajectories are captured by a simple model of the evolution of the Magnus and drag forces as a function of the spin of the gliders. The experimental data and the modeling show that the type of trajectory—for instance, the occurrence of loops—depends mostly on the value and orientation of the initial translational velocity regardless of the value of the backspin, while the maximum height of the apex depends on both the initial translational velocity and initial backspin.

中文翻译：

---

马格努斯滑翔机的物理学

马格努斯滑翔机是旋转玩具，当以大速度发射时显示出壮观的环形轨迹。这些轨迹源于马格努斯力的大振幅，这是由于每秒几米的平移速度与每秒几百弧度的后旋相结合。在本文中，我们分析了由纸杯制成的马格努斯滑翔机的轨迹，在实验室中很容易重现。我们强调了滑翔机轨迹与带电粒子在交叉电场和磁场中的轨迹之间的类比。使用高速成像分析初始速度和初始后旋对轨迹的影响。这些轨迹的特征被一个简单的马格努斯演化模型和作为滑翔机旋转函数的阻力捕获。