Simple and slow - Seans gravity wheel

[hartiberlin]

Hi Sean,
well done with your simulation.
The question really is, if this is not a rounding error
of your amarillo software...

For a WM2D patch have a look over here:
http://asta-killer.com/?srch=working+model

But use Firefox to browse these sites as you could easily get
trojan horses via ActiveX in IE.

Another interesting Physics program is
NewtonLab
http://www.dsmm.net/English/newton/index.php

Here you can download a free demo.
http://www.dsmm.net/demos/demo_newton.php

It is also in 3D.
Have not played yet myself with it,
but will give it a try when I have more time.


Now to your wheel.

How do you get the sprockets(hanging weights) to go down-tilted at around 5 o?clock ?
What and how is doing that ?

Many thanks.
Regards, Stefan.

[Koen1]

This 'flipping one arm over to increase the arm of momentum' approach
is classic, variations on it have been around since the middle ages in Europe
and since well before that in the "silk route"/India region.
It is the most common approach people tend to start with when they start
to study gravity wheels.

It would be remarkable if you could actually get one like this to work,
as I don't know of any that really have in the past.
Many claims were made, but none were proven as far as I know...

Still, nice to see someone has picked it up again.
Good luck with your work on it, hope you get it to work!

[Scorpile]

When testing the design of the milkovich thing, i've noticed that error so many times... could be possible that WM detects overunity or perpetual motion, and refuses it showing it like an error?

[Scorpile]

Here's something like your model... i even used a falling weight to start the spin...  it slows down...

Don't imagine the motion by the picture... download the model and run it...



Heres the model:  http://pabo.com.pa/joe/seanwheel.wm2d

[SeanTheLight]

Nice recreation. I have 3 concerns with your model though. First, why is there an extra rope going from tip of weight, to fulcrum of next weight, on the elastic side? Second, did you change the ropes on one side to elastic or did you leave all ropes as rope? Third why is the hinge for the weights offset to one side? Thank you for your interest. 

And actually, the flipping over to gain momentum is not the mechanism that keeps this wheel rotating. There is a net imbalance on the wheel at all times, if you watch it closely. Measure each weights distance perpendicular to the fulcrum, and compare it to its twin on opposite side of wheel. The only pair that might cause imbalance towards the up side, is the 12:00 weight as it moves from 3:00-12:00 (on a ccw rotating wheel). And in fact this is why it does not work as a 2 lever system. By adding another pair at 90 degrees to the first, the imbalance of the pair at 3:00 and 9:00 is greater (further distance from fulcrum) than the pair at 12:00 and 6:00.

Stefan, the force that is pulling the weight down at 5:00 is gravity. The weight is free to hang fairly loose at this point due to the elasticity of the cloth (blue strip) which is gaining spring energy as the weight pulls against it. The rope on the opposite side is slack due to the weight being at or past its starting position. The weight continues to rotate down until the force of gravity trying to rotate that weight on its fulcrum is balanced by the force of the elasticity of the cloth trying to pull itself back to starting position.

note: this design should be put together with a static tension in the elastic, but I'm having a hard time simulating that with WM.