Maker / Scenes / Escape the rings
Scene
Escape the rings
A ball bounces inside 22 spinning rings, one inside the other. Each ring has a gap, and when the ball slips through it, that ring breaks. Each bounce plays the next note of Für Elise.
Make this videoWhat happens
The rings get bigger from the inside out, with radii from 150 to 780 pixels, and their gaps get narrower as they go. Neighbouring rings spin in opposite directions at different speeds. The ball falls under gravity and only ever touches the innermost ring that is still standing. When it gets through that ring's gap, the ring shatters and the next one out takes over.
A run stops after 62 seconds whether or not the ball is free. Across variations 1 to 40 the ball broke 13 to 22 rings, and got through all 22 in 14 of them. The maker's default, variation 19, is one of the clean escapes, and Shuffle only picks variations that break at least 20 rings.
What you hear
Every bounce plays the next note of the melody. A ring breaking plays its note with an extra low note two octaves down and a soft bell on top, so you can hear the breaks without watching. When the last ring goes, a six-note chord plays and the video holds for a few seconds.
Songs that fit
This is the longest scene, often close to a minute, so it can carry a whole tune. Für Elise is the default because its opening comes back several times and is easy to recognise even when the bounces stretch the rhythm. Canon in D and Ode to Joy are good long choices too.
Make your own
Open Escape the rings in the maker, pick a song or upload a MIDI file, and download the MP4. Variation 19 is the one in the preview above. The same variation number always gives the same video, so you can share a link and get identical results.
Other scenes
- Spinning hexagon: The spinning hexagon test with a gap in one wall. The spin speeds up with every bounce.
- Galton board: 300 balls fall through 12 rows of pegs. Each bin has its own note, so you hear the bell curve fill in.
- Growing ball: The ball gets a little bigger on every bounce until it fills the circle.
- Every bounce adds a ball: Every bounce can add another ball, up to 200 of them, while a slowly widening gap lets them out.
- Shrinking ring: The ring gets 1.5% smaller every time it is hit, until the ball no longer fits.
- 100 strings: Each hit ties a string to the ring and speeds the ball up. The ring has to hold 100 of them.
- Color war: Two balls paint the ring in their own colour. Whoever owns more of it after 30 seconds wins.
- Ball race: Four balls, one small spinning exit. First one out wins.