Floppy Gear

[Jonathan]

As promised, I made the floppy gear thing that Georg drew, and it didn't work. Here are the pictures, I'd like an explaination:

[Jonathan]

Here is a clarification of the structure shown in the first attachment, with the arms omitted.

[trevie]

Couldn't you make the arms longer? Possibly the arms are not has heavy as the wheel itself or greater than the wheel and therefore won't work.

[Jonathan]

I could, but its not even clear to me which way Georg thinks it should turn. It seems to me that if one arms leans on another even a little bit, then the wheel with the leaning arm will turn to raise that arm, while the wheel whose arm is leaned on will turn to lower that arm. That is, they will turn in the same direction until the arms aren't interacting, and then you will have equilibrium. If the arms are such that one is always interacting with at least one other (while it is in the region between the wheels), then it will have to find some equilibrium of both leaning and being leaned on; a simultaneous, three-arm interaction.

[ovyyus]

Where's an expert when you need one, eh? I'd like to see where you went wrong Jonathan.

[Jonathan]

Georg's been so quiet that I think I can actually hear his cognitive dissonance!