This is the Magic Wagon Atomic Glass Penetration trick secret revealed article which was originally published back in January 2021.
It was featured in Peter Warlock Penetration trick revealed post.
I used Magic Wagon Atomic Glass Penetration because at that time I could not find any suitable demo video to explain Peter Warlock Penetration Glass trick.
The effect and the trick secret of both props are the same, so is the bigger version called “Liquid Glass” illusion by Jim Steinmeyer.
To avoid confusion, I have taken it out from the original post, and republish it here.
Welcome to another article from the Info Ruckus Magic Trick Secrets Revealed series.
Watch Simon Corneille demonstrating the Atomic Glass Penetration:
Atomic Glass Penetration Trick Secret Revealed
After viewing the demo video a few times, I knew how this brass rod through glass trick is done.
It is by shifting the glass piece within the wooden frame, to allow the brass rod attached with a ribbon to slip through the holes.
There is a hidden sliding lever at the Atomic Glass Penetration magical prop.
Secret Glass Slider Lever
The secret of this trick is what I called it a glass sliding lever.
It is a built-in device to shift the glass side to side within the wooden frame.
This small contraption is on the performer’s right hand side of the prop facing him.
To be exact, it is located on the frame platform.
I managed to capture it from the demo video clip by Simon Corneille.
You can briefly see the glass slider lever from the video at 0:31.
You need to slow down the playback speed to 0.25, to catch a sight of this small lever.
Here is image captured from the demo video by Brother Bor, again where you can see the small device at 3:08.
I think this is where the secret glass slider lever is situated.
Atomic Glass Penetration Routine
Now, let’s analyze how Simon Corneille handles the prop.
He does an excellent presentation demonstrating the effect.
Right from the beginning, at 0:07, as he lifts up the cloth, he rotates the side of the prop with the secret glass slider lever towards him.
After putting up the front panel, he spins the frame around to fix the back panel at 0:26 to 0:30, you can see his left hand holding onto the platform base and the circular board.
Actually his fingers are hiding the secret glass slider lever.
At 0:33-0:34, his right thumb adjusts the glass slider lever, shifting the glass to the right hand side, as his left hand slots in the grip holder on top of the frame.
You can see the slight movement of the glass moving toward his right hand side.
From 0:40 when he inserts the white feather through the two holes, he just turns the glass frame slightly, so that the glass slider lever cannot be seen.
Next he performs the penetration illusion on the other two glass windows with a white silk hanky.
First, he adjusts the slider at 1:03-1:04 to move the glass back to the left side, while his left hand removes the grip holder on top of the frame.
Then only he can slide both panels to his right side of the frame, without exposing the left side windows covered with only half glass.
As he has put on the grip holder with his left hand, his right thumb sneakily adjust the glass slider lever at the same time at 1:15.
He pushes in the silk hanky through the bottom hole first, then only he spins the frame around.
The white silk hanky is now safely blocking the secret glass slider lever.
To remove the hanky, he must spins the frame back at 1:47, so that the glass slider lever is now facing him, then only he can remove it.
After removing the white hanky, before he slides the two panels to his left, he must bring the glass back to his right side.
Or else you can see the right side windows with half-missing glass.
At 1:56, using his thumb he adjusts the lever again to shift the glass back to his right hand side of the frame.
Then only he slides the two panels to his left side.
While his left hand is still holding the two panels, his right thumb secretly adjust the lever at 1:59.
This is to slide the glass back to his right side of the frame.
Then he covers the right side windows with two more panels.
Now all the four glass windows are hidden.
And remember at 1:59, he has already shifted the glass to the right side of the frame.
In other words, half of the windows on his left is already without glass.
He starts to pierce the thin brass rods with ribbons through the left windows first.
To prepare the right side windows for the penetration trick, again he uses his right thumb to adjust the glass slider lever at 2:39-2:40 toward his left side.
This is an important part of the routine.
When the glass is slid over to the his left side of the frame, it pushes or squeezes the two inserted ribbons.
That will cause the ribbons to be dragged in slightly, which can be seen, just like in this video at exactly: 1:45.
You can see the end of the red ribbon slithering into the hole.
So is this video at 1:14, when he turns the glass slider lever.
You can clearly see the red ribbon being pulled into the top hole!
But for this performer, to distract the moving ribbons from being seen, he turns the prop slightly, while his left hand busy segregating the two streaming ribbons.
This segregating action is actually to pull the two soft ribbons slightly towards the left side, while he pushes the glass toward the left side.
He does this move, so that you would not notice the slight movement of the two ribbons being crushed or pushed out by the edge of the glass.
Now he can insert the two rods through the holes on the right side of the frame.
To show you the four slim rods truly have penetrated through the holes, he spins the prop around slightly.
Again, his right hand covers the glass slider lever.
To finish the trick, he needs to remove the two right ribbons first.
It is because the glass is still over to the left side of the frame, squeezing the two ribbons.
Then again using his right thumb he slides the glass toward his right side, at 3:12-3:13.
To distract you from seeing his secret move, he does it, as his left hand pulling out the two thin rods on the circular wooden board.
After removing the ribbons and panels, he still rotates the frame just slightly around 45 degree, so that you cannot see the secret glass slider lever.
Finally he removes and reveals that it is actually one piece of glass with no holes.
Atomic Glass Penetration Design Features
For the penetration trick to work, the width of the glass is important.
Look carefully at the width of the glass sheet, when the magician pulls it up from the frame.
It is just slightly wider than the width of the window.
To confirm it, here is an image taken from Brother Bor’s video, where you can actually see the width of the slot for the glass sheet.
When the glass sheet is pushed to one end of the frame, there is still a gap for the penetration effect.
So there is still enough empty space for the thin rods to be to inserted into the windows.
When it comes to final part of the trick, one side of the frame already has the ribbons through it.
So to thrust through the other side of the windows, the magician still can slide or push the glass over to the side.
It is because the circular rods are slim and ribbons are flat and soft.
There is ample room to accommodate the skinny metal rod and the supple flat ribbons against the edge of the frame.
The other items used to show the penetration effect are equally pliable and flexible: feather and flimsy handkerchief.
Psychology Of Atomic Glass Penetration Trick
Now let’s find out about the psychology behind this magic trick.
Visually it appears the four holes of the two panels are centrally aligned in the four quadrants window.
So the rods go right through the middle of the four windows.
That makes the penetration effect seems mysteriously impossible, right?
Look at the glass position again, without being blocked by the wooden panel.
You notice when the glass is shifted to one side, its other edge is slightly over the middle of the windows.
Hole Positioning
So the hole positions at the panels should be slightly more towards the side of the frame.
Here is an image captured from Brother Bor’s video from 0:25.
You can clearly see the four holes of the panels are not in the middle of the windows.
They are nearer to the side of the wooden frame.
Just like the “Peter Warlock Glass Penetration” trick and “Liquid Glass” illusion by Jim Steinmeyer, as shown below.
But when it is blocked by the panels.
This optical illusion happens when your brain misinterprets visual information from the eyes, resulting in a different perception of reality.
Simon Corneille does an excellent job in the Atomic Glass Penetration Trick video, without exposing this inconspicuous secret.
Deceptive Attached Pieces
This is another optical illusion; where your eyes play trick on the brain.
It happens because the part of the brain that controls vision, misinterprets signals that your eyes send.
I am talking about the two square pieces with the holes attached on the panel.
They are included in the prop design not for aesthetic value.
The size of the black hole is there to mislead your visual perception; it wants you to see it a big hole right in the center of the glass window.
But as I have just explained and illustrated it, there is a limited space allowance for the penetration.
That’s is why it uses a slim metal rod, a pliable feather and silky scarf to do the penetration effect.
Now you know how Magic Wagon Atomic Glass Penetration trick works.
UDDATED 2023: I was right back then in 2021 with the above explanation how the Atomic Glass Penetration trick works.
This is the glass slider lever captured from this 2023 Arabic DIY woodworking video clip.