Swing set

[Michael]

Got to thinking about those old fashioned two seater swings where each person faces the other and pushes on the floor to make the swing move. I tried to find a picture on the net, but the closest I could come to was this;

http://www.byoswingset.com/byoswingset/twopglid.html

I was thinking if instead of seats or people it was weight. If the top was connected to an axel and it was locked and rotated with the wheel. Then at a certain place unlocked and moved.
Regards,

Michael

[jim_mich]

When I was a teenager I rode on a carnival ride that was a giant swinging cage. You stood in the cage and pumped and pumped. After about five minutes of very hard work you could get it to go "over the top". Then it was very easy to keep it swinging, you could just sway in rhythm! I've always woundered if you could put some type of mechanism or pendulum in the gage to keep it turning? Like a ball that rolls from one side to the other side?

[Michael]

Hi Jim,
Thanks for the moving pic. That's basically it. Now just imagine the two arms that are connected to the pole meet to a point and you have something similar looking to the and still you don't understand inage.

Regards,
Michael

[etjoe]

Hmmm, interesting...then the weight will move horizontally from side-to-side. The height of the swing can be limited and by the sudden stop, the energy can be transferred and used to move the weight to the opposite side of the platform.

-e