h a l f b a k e r y"This may be bollocks, but it's lovely bollocks."
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Gravitational effects are often depicted for ease of comprehension
in the form of metal balls depressing impacts into a rubber sheet,
usually printed with graph-paper lines to accentuated the distortion
of space.
Orrerys show the relative movement of the planets in the solar
system as they
orbit a central sun. Combining these two results in
the creation of a Rubberorrery, where the ball-like planets create
appropriately sized moving dents in a suspended rubber sheet as
they travel.
(?) Boot to the Head!
http://www.thefrantics.com/
2/3 of Canada is water; we all assumed they meant rubber boots. [Sgt Teacup, Feb 19 2016]
[link]
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Powered by fans under the sheet providing just enough
force to overcome friction and make fine adjustments to
the position of planets needed due to non-ideal conditions
and perturbations from outside influence. [+] |
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Magnets. The answer is _always_ magnets. |
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I'm glad it isn't what I thought it was. |
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If it was would you have condomed the idea ? |
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My god, it's full of rubbers. No, doesn't quite work |
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Bun if you incorporate rubber boots, commonly know as rubbers (No, the other kind!), perhaps painted and labelled to stand in for planets and stars. |
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See link for classic Canadian boot reference. |
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That's stretching the metaphor a bit, isn't it ? |
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I'll probably delete it..... in retrospect it's a crap idea.
Bone is mine. Others welcome before it goes. |
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Bone added - glad to be of assistance. |
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But seriously, this is not an entirely stupid idea. |
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The point is it's not an entirely stupid idea.... this is what
makes it crap. Who wrote it anyway? |
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To make this satisfactory, you'd have to link the rubber-sheet mechanism to the planetary motions; that is, you'd have to make them roll round and round the big sun-depression like debris circling a drain, but without dribbling straight down into it. The engineering - especially the materials engineering of the rubber sheet and balls to have exactly the right amount of grip (approximately none), would have to be fantastically delicate. Quite likely impossible, but perhaps not provably impossible, and therefore very half-baked. [+] |
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[MB]'s magnets would probably help, but would be cheating. |
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The obvious answer is to build a prototype at 1:1 scale of the original and leave out the rubber sheet until you have the mechanics sorted. |
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Regular orreries CAN have arms; why can't this one? |
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Not all of them. Sone have concentric rings with posts; others have the "planets" suspended from wires. |
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Indeed; fixed. I think my point stands. |
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Legs stand, arms stick out to the sides, points balance, so no. |
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