Play trebuchet...

[iacob alex]

...and right after that,imagine in your own manner a "modus operandi" for the relation store-release energy in a different system.

So,think about a different kind of leverage:instead of vertical to horizontal(trebuchet),into a vertical to rotational(...your denomination...).

The main problem moves from the "cast" action to the "storage" operation.

To hit wording becomes to roll declaimer,nothing more...for your inner fancy,imaging power,mind's eye.

As you know,a trebuchet works by using the mechanical principle of leverage in this unseen flow of gravity.

It is a siege machine that was employed in the Middle Ages.

It is sometimes called a "counter-weight trebuchet" or "counterpoise trebuchet":a destructive machine,15 m tall and so heavy that hundreds of strong men were required to carry it.

In an usual trebuchet the weight has to fall in an arc,wasting energy as the weight moves horizontally.

Pay attention:the trebuchet is powered by gravity alone...as we hope to find a way for free energy in our so many vain attempts.

A trebuchet,can be seen as a wheel also,a minimal spokes wheel/lever.

For oil energy,we must explore the ground,to dip deep into it.

Maybe,for gravity energy also:to drop,sink suddenly...a sufficient brief plunge,immersion.

So,let's play trebuchet ,remake the store-release relation,try to think big size if you want to make milk into butter.

All the Bests! / Alex

[iacob alex]

....and you will have an elementary biomimetics of the whip into,go into,move into inertia ,a natural pattern of the flagellation,beating of the very small creatures,on the same design line with swimming,flapping into a medium(water,air),but in fact on the same stage frame,inertia.

It can be an inspirational moment to think about the natural drive,propulsion...but this time to obtain a pulsatory,repetitive self motion/turning due to gravity flow,a kind of flip-flop minimal "wheel"/lever...a vibrating,beating,wavering leverage...whipping action as a wavering,flapping effort in relation with the medium,waiting an echo answer in this interplay/ action-reaction with rotational inertia.


All the Bests! / Alex

[bluesgtr44]

Try your luck!

http://www.globalspec.com/trebuchet/


Steve

[iacob alex]

...so to play whipping idea(of trebuchet) that we can notice in the natural world (flagellation,"beating" inertia-medium),so to introduce it ,in some way ,to our attempts of a self motion device in the gravity flow.

All the Bests "44"! / Alex

[Michael]

Good site Steve. I like how these things describe physics sometime though ( I mean that sarcastically ) a pop up menu comes on saying did you know gravity doesn't affect the objects distance, only its speed. Changing the gravity won't help you. Which is completely untrue, and to check the model I played around with only the gravity and sure enough the projectile was altered in its distance.

[iacob alex]

....or read about this topic,on net

The next step can be,to imagine "something" alike,a suggestion, a kind of mechanical arrangement that will play "fall down so to jump up".

So,we are looking for "up" ...not "far".

Our intention,moves from a horizontally "throwing" action to a vertical "jumping",lifting performance.

This can be on a line,so to determine a solution for the only one problem that we must solve:the long arm/short arm (torque...in fact) self switching.

It is intended to "tumble" always the greater torque/unbalance on the same side of the fulcrum.


All the Bests! / Alex

[RIPPERTON]

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=cb1_1197789980

big BIG catapult

[iacob alex]

...after you take a look at www.geocities.com/iacob_alex then click on "Some Drafts"/pos.80

All the Bests! / Alex

[iacob alex]

....that medieval throwing machine,but quite different,this time :try to "throw" small arm into a long arm...so to get a "self" for the top position.

This is the "critical point",the only one problem for a possible gravity powered motor...in my opinion.

As you know,for a hinged arm(a medieval design,also) wheel,long arm changes "naturally" into a small arm (in the bottom position)...it's "self".

The reason of this variable arm(we need no more than one...the other is the counterweight,as that of a trebuchet),is to have a continuous torque difference on the same side of the fulcrum

If so,we can have "free" motion...

All the best! / Alex

[pequaide]

Search; smokin lamas; the arm length (probably) remains the same but the tether length changes. I guess they are up to 1163 feet.

[iacob alex]

.....at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5qGsgj- ... re=related

It's a simplified,homemade model.

We have: a fulcrum and a lever (a long arm with a mobile mass and a short arm with a fixed mass).

In my opinion,a gravity powered device,can be "seen" as a "modified" trebuchet...between others possibilities.

All the best! / Alex

[iacob alex]

.....this time , a modified arrangementof the an old machine ,at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1s1juID ... re=related

All the best! / Alex

[iacob alex]

.....this time with the fulcrum and CoG (big /fixed mass and small/mobile,hinged mass) on the same line(colinearity prerequisite ) ,at:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/gritzi/1458381738/

The next step is to imagine it as a gravity(self-powered !) simple machine...

Sometimes,the art intersects the science ,on the same way to the truth...

All the best! / Alex

[iacob alex]

.....,if you take a look at:
http://web.vu.union.edu/~stodolan/trebuchet/theory.html

...but keep in mind,that we intend the achievement of the continuous rotation,due to gravity fall and inertia.

My challenge was simple: a " modified " trebuchet .

This time ,we "throw inside"(nothing outside...) and in the top position,the long arm becomes longer ...after this,it can rise the counterweight.

The sling becomes the hinged part of the long arm (so to play "short-long"...), and we must introduce the first "self" : the lift up of the counterweight...

All the best! / Alex

[iacob alex]

.....with a 360* rotation of the throwing arm ,at :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRA3LwXblEA

The trajectory of the small mass is circular (a full turn)...but we can play ,a 360* spiral trajectory (the main "point" of the "classic" trebuchet ),if:

-we add a track/guide-face

-without a track (that of the "classic" trebuchet...) , but with a hinged arm (that of the "classic" gravity wheels of the Middle Ages).

The spiral trajectory is a "natural" suggestion, to play the "whip" of a mass.

All the best! / Alex