Never ending Slinky?

[anna~marie]

Has any one ever thought what would happen if you put a slinky down an up escalator?
If you could time it right it would never stop...
Any thoughts? Or anyone want to try?

[Bcahn836]

I think that an escalator step may be too wide, so the slinky would go down the first step and stop on the second.

Just a thought.

[Adam Richards]

I think that an escalator step may be too wide, so the slinky would go down the first step and stop on the second.

Just a thought.
Even if it does keep going down steps, there's the question of whether the 'slink' will be fast enough to keep up with the escalator going upwards, otherwise the slinky will just end up at the top anyway.

[anna~marie]

What if you made the slinky of heavier material and had it xtra large....

[sciguy125]

What if you made the slinky of heavier material and had it xtra large....

I'd have to think about it more, but I suspect that gravity makes all slinkies "slink" at the same speed. Actually, I take that back, I think momentum comes into play. Anyway, it'd be easier to just change the speed of the escalator. But you're right about the size issue.

I have this feeling that somehow violates some law of conservation, but I can't justify it. So, for now, I think that it'd work.

Does anyone have access to an escalator?

[Kyle Love]

My Prediction:

The slinky will go faster then the escalator, it will stay on (from the top) for probably 20-30 seconds.

[mechanicalbrain]

Nothing is being created or destroyed. Yes theoretically it would work but you would need to change variables around. I reality however the best you could do is keep it going a long time.

[CourtneyB]

yeah i think it could happen.

[greencactus3]

me too. i think its possible. but itd take a lot of trial and error. and do slinkies accelerate the rate they slink after a bit? ive had slinky races so i know not all slinkies slink at the same speed. maybe its te initial drop speed that matters too hmm.

[Travis Hoffman]

You could use closed loop control with some form of sensor array (I have no idea what you'd use - that's for people with more free time and money than I have to figure out :) ) monitoring the position and "speed" of the Slinky and controlling the speed of the escalator to keep it "slinking" in place. So who wants to commandeer an escalator for this project?

[Ryan M.]

I think I can't do a slinky on a regular set of steps... :cool:

:rolleyes:

[Elgin Clock]

Why control the slinky's speed, when the best way to accomplish this is to have a speed regulator on the escalator itself. Slow it down or speed it up to make it in sync with the slinky's natural speed.

I would love to see someone do this btw..

Anyone have ready access to a escalator to do some trial and error testing??

I know there were a million of them in Atlanta.. lol

edit:
Looks like it has been tried before, and it was a failure.. :(
http://www.20six.co.uk/weblogCategory/uy0wqr7qpr2t
The problem wasn't that the steps were too deep, rather too wide - the slinky would decend the step and land in the middle of the next, then 'slink' again to the edge of the step and stop.
I guess the stair's individual tread run did play a factor into this experiment..
So does anyone know where I can find a thin-stepped escalator?

edit 2:

On another site I saw dealing with this kind of idea, it was suggested instead of an escalator type deal, you can use an elevated conveyor belt of some kind..
Elevate it enough for the slinky to actually perform, but not to fast to beat the belt's motion, and you could have what looks like a motionless object that is actually in motion all the time.

It would be like.. lol doing an MJ style Moonwalk on the belt..
Actually, speaking of walking a treadmill may work for that at an elevated angle..
Now I'm gonna have to buy/find a slinky and test this @ my dad's house on the treadmill there.. :)

[Yan Wang]

classic, old quote from www.bash.org (warning, not that appropriate for work):

#188572 +(2790)- [X]

<TRON> if my calculations are correct SLINKY + ESCULATOR = EVERLASTING FUN

[Denman]

i wonder if "slink" can be used as a verb ... so many obvious words here

[mechanicalbrain]

To slink around? Sure why not?

[Cyberguy34000]

Hahahaaa! We should so do this on that really long escalator going down at nats! It's not like anyone ever uses it :) Better yet! Every FIRSTer buy and bring a $2.00 slinky and then once we finally reach the top, set one down on a fateful trip to the bottom. (Or you'd start it at the bottom if the escalator tends to carry the slinky motion "up")

It would be so cool!

Think about it! To have a few hundred slinkies endlessly slinking on the escalator. An unbroken cadence of springs! It would definitely give some entertainment for the long ride up :)

So how about it people? Anyone interested in SlinkyFest '06 at nats?

[mechanicalbrain]

YAY SLINKY FEST!!! Though i think we would have to make our own escalator though....

[Cyberguy34000]

Nah, we don't need to make our own escalator, just use that really long one, you know, the one that comes up from the subway into the Peachtree center? It's long enough that the slinkies could be going for hours. At least theoretically. And for the clueless passerby, it would also lead them to ask questions about who are we, what is FIRST, Etc. Either that or they'd give us some really funny looks :D

Go SlinkyFest '06!




(oh shoot, I just realized something, it couldn't be on the "down" escalator unless gravity somehow got reversed, and the long one is in constant use, perhaps we could hold the SlinkyFest in one of the hotels? :))

[tiffany34990]

if you ppl have this slinky fest this coming year... i'm gonna be sad if i miss this..

this is though a cool problem to think about it... in theory it seems to work.. i'm sure we can figure a way to get ppl to not use them and have some slinky fun @ nats. lol..

enjoy!

[anna~marie]

so whos getting the slinkies? :D

[Ian Curtis]

Peachtree station. Bah. How about the longest freestanding in North America aka the CNN center escalator!

[Adam Richards]

Peachtree station. Bah. How about the longest freestanding in North America aka the CNN center escalator!
This one: http://mywebpages.comcast.net/chris_wood79/Atlanta/cnn3.jpg ?

[Ian Curtis]

That would be the one. I've got a picture from the top somewheres around here. Only problem with the CNN one is the 10 dollar tour fee that one must pay to ride this beast.

[RbtGal1351]

omg! i have access to an escalator!
Theres a really pitiful mall down the street from my house, and it has some escalator! And the mall is always very empty (there's a Sears and a Macy's and that's about it) so people wouldnt be too hindered by a slinky experiment.
i wanna go to the mall now.

[anna~marie]

that would be amazing.... get lotsa pictures for us!!!!

[Michael Hill]

I just happened to have a slinky and a treadmill...I had to use a chair to keep the back end up at the proper elevation. I set the speed to .5 mph and let the slinky go. It worked quite well except it liked to go to the side.

[sciguy125]

I just happened to have a slinky and a treadmill...

Wow, why didn't anyone else think of that?

[Kyle Love]

I just happened to have a slinky and a treadmill...I had to use a chair to keep the back end up at the proper elevation. I set the speed to .5 mph and let the slinky go. It worked quite well except it liked to go to the side.

I head about this today in Physics. Most of the kids that overheard our conversation were like "I never thought of that one!" I was like you all don't know what made him think of using a treadmill. :) Darn kids, how can they not be addicted to ChiefDelphi?

[Andy Baker]

I just happened to have a slinky and a treadmill...I had to use a chair to keep the back end up at the proper elevation. I set the speed to .5 mph and let the slinky go. It worked quite well except it liked to go to the side.


... yet another proud moment to be a TechnoKat.

/me wipes tear from eye.

Good job Hill,
Andy

[Cyberguy34000]

(jaw drops down in awestruck happiness)

NICE! The CNN thing would be even better! I mean, it's not like we'd have to ask 800 people to stop using the peachtree escalator, and we'd also get quite a bit more viewage. Though we'd probably have to set the thing up with the CNN center ahead of time.

Thinking along those lines... Perhaps we could get CNN to do a spot? I mean it's not everyday you see several hundred slinkies going down an escalator set by a bunch of robot builders and future engineers :) It could be a very round-a-bout way to give a plug for FIRST :)

We should probably do it during lunch one of those days, since that's when the most people are in the eatery area, and are free to start slinking.

Oh, Michael, nice thinking with the treadmill. Perhaps you could set up some kind of side guard to prevent the slinky from going too far off to the side?

Anyways, here's for Slinkyfest '06! Bring your slinkies!

[Michael Hill]

Here is THE video of the slinky.

http://rapidshare.de/files/4375683/100_0592.MOV.html

[Cyberguy34000]

AWESOME! I'm inspired to find a neighbor with a treadmill right about now. From the video it appears that the treadmill is slanted very slightly to the right, maybe you could try propping it up a little bit to help keep the slinky center.

BTW, the website that you used was very cluttered with adds. In the future use something cleaner like http://www.yousendit.com/ which supports 1GB files and no adds, and then just post the file link. It works pretty well.

Thank for posting the video. I'm thinking very happy slinky thoughts right now :)

[Michael Hill]

yousendit will only allow so many downloads though. From my experiences, it will only last like 25 downloads. I don't think rapidshare has a cap.

[anna~marie]

so I was at the Novi Expo Center tonight and I definately found a stash of about 200 Pistons Basketball Slinkies.... the urge was overwhelming....

[Cyberguy34000]

Ooooh!!! Ooooooh! Oooooh!

Did you buy them all? Enough to share??? Oh please oh, PLEASE TELL ME!

The suspense is KILLING ME!

(ahem)

I'm sorry, my slinky-obsessed self took over for a second. I'm myself again now, I think...

So what did you do? I'm dieing to find out.

[Bcahn836]

Ok so I found out today that the capital clash in DC has a nice long escalator, and an interesting set of stairs. . . so i am bringing a slikny and having some fun.

[Cyberguy34000]

Be sure to tell us how it goes!

[anna~marie]

Actually I was thinking, since I haven't started school yet and I get bored easily, I am going to email the Original Slinky makers and ask them if they will fund our efforts :D
If yes, then CNN comes next.... updates to follow.

[Bcahn836]

Be sure to tell us how it goes!


Ummm uhhh, we tried but the escalator was just too busy, we did however got the slinky to go down a flight of stairs.

[KarenH]

On another site I saw dealing with this kind of idea, it was suggested instead of an escalator type deal, you can use an elevated conveyor belt of some kind..
Elevate it enough for the slinky to actually perform, but not to fast to beat the belt's motion, and you could have what looks like a motionless object that is actually in motion all the time.
San Diego Zoo has slanted moving sidewalks. They go pretty fast, too. You have to be careful getting on. (Jump and hang on tight!)

They're not as steep as escalators, but with their speed, they might be able to drive a slinky. Plus, they're longer than a typical escalator, over 100 feet, judging from a look at the map (http://www.sandiegozoo.org/zoo/zoo_map.html). (They're called "escalators," and they both go UP in two sections--but they have no steps.)

I don't know what the zoo staff would think of a slinky project, but the animals would have something new to watch. :D

[Cyberguy34000]

Well the '06 game has been anounced, and who are the makers of these new gamepieces? None other than PoofSlinky! The makers of Poofballs and Slinkys! How else could FIRST show how much they love this idea and embrace it officially in such an unofficial way? I think we can take this as a sign, SlinkyFest '06 here we come!

So here's the basic idea, everyone that comes to nats, bring at least 1 slinky. We'll post more information about where an when we'll meet for the Great Unleashing of Slinky's Upon an Escalator. What do ya guys think?

[Andrew Blair]

Can you bring PoofSlinky's? I'm sure team'll be able to come by them easy enough...;)

[Cyberguy34000]

Well, unfortunently, I won't be able to go to nats this year :( Would anyone else be interested in trying to organize this?

[Cyberguy34000]

1 week left... Will slinkyfest '06 become nothing but a distant memory?

[Tytus Gerrish]

im going to go do this today

[Tomasz Bania]

im going to go do this today
Good LuCk!

[KenWittlief]

I wanna see what happens when the escalator eats the slinky.

Have a friend bring a camcorder with a 4 hour tape. That should be enough for the experiment, your arrest, and your trial :^)

[anna~marie]

*sigh* I really do think I will have to bring a slinky to Atlanta... perhaps after the webhug, anyone?

[lukevanoort]

Sadly, I won't be going to Atlanta this year. But, if I remember correctly, there is a long, very narrow escalator in the pit building. (I remember it because we carried tools down it... not fun)

[Dylan]

*sigh* I really do think I will have to bring a slinky to Atlanta... perhaps after the webhug, anyone?
Sounds cool, I'll try and bring a slinky.

[Cyberguy34000]

A like anna~marie's idea. How's after the webhug sound people? We shall unleash a tide of never ending slinkys! YAY!

[Morgan Gillespie]

Sorry to burst your bubble, but this wont work. The reason why a slinky works is because of the momentum and Hookes law, yet when it goes up a escalator this shifts the momentum. Sorry. Doesn't hurt to try..

[anna~marie]

party pooper :p
lol we'll just have to see to be sure!

[Schnabel]

Why not try to get on Myth-Busters? This sounds a lot like what they would try to do. Plus they have connections.