h a l f b a k e r yIt's as much a hovercraft as a pancake is a waffle.
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Observe the two stairwells in the two links. Note that
one is
"tight" in that there is no significant space between
sections
of the stairwell, while the other is relatively roomy
(some are
even more roomy).
When the stairwell is roomy, it could make sense to
install a
fireman pole
in that open space. Maybe even two of
them. For anyone who wants a
fast way downstairs, of course!
Tight stairwell
http://idighardware...airwell-768x510.jpg
As mentioned in the main text. [Vernon, Apr 17 2018]
Relatively roomy stairwell
https://i.stack.imgur.com/2OV2S.jpg
As mentioned in the main text. [Vernon, Apr 17 2018]
Paternoster
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paternoster
Simple and effective [8th of 7, Apr 19 2018]
[link]
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When not in use for transferring between floors, the device could be used as a practice area for pole dancers, doubling the value obtained from a single installation. |
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Triple or fourple the value by charging admission during dance practice. |
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Helical pole for tight stairwells |
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That poses a very interesting question. |
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A helical pole would allow for a lower rate of descent, and therefore a safer transfer from higher levels. |
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How much of a helix can be introduced while retaining the efficacy as a fast method of descent ? |
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The diameter and the pitch need to be carefully chosen for maximum effectiveness. However, the subject is probably worthy of further practical investigation. |
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There are no deliberately helical fireman poles, so putting a
helical pole
in a tight
stairwell should probably
be posted as a separate Idea. Nice one, though! |
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Vernon are you telling me that every fireman's pole in the world has exactly zero deviation from absolute straightness? |
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I would suspect firemen suffer from Peyronie's at roughly the
same rate as the general population. |
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A limit to the number of floors one can slide down might be
in order. A minimum of 3 is advised. Maximum? Nah... |
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// exactly zero deviation from absolute straightness? // |
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All fireman's poles are curved, since the gravitational field of your planet and its major satellite cause spacetime to curve dynamically in a known and well-defined way. |
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For an absolutely straight pole, you would need to transport it to one of those rare regions* in the Universe where - due to coincidental distributions of normal and "dark" matter - there is no incident gravitational field. |
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*Best to book ahead; these places are often crowded with physicists wanting to perform particularly sensetive experiments. |
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There should, as [Ian] said, be two poles. They should be
connected with pulleys, gearing and ratchets so that enough
firemen
going down the "down" pole will eventually raise the piano to the
observatory up the "up" pole. A flywheel may also be needed. |
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In the meantime, the piano may be played by anyone leaning over
the right banister. |
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[pocmloc], in response to your question I modified my
earlier anno. |
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Would that be the pink one that only the right sort of
people can see? |
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Be one of those people, [Ray]. |
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<pushes Absinthe bottle across table/> |
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[8th of 7], relevant to your second anno here, sliding down a
helical pole would be somewhat equivalent to sliding down
the banister of a spiral staircase. The problem here is
making such a pole fit in a tight stairwell, especially making
it not interfere with folks using the stairs. |
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Stair users keep to the outside of the spiral. Just change the inner
part of the spiral to a smooth, padded ramp. |
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I think this is the shortest [Vernon] idea I've ever seen, and
that's the second time this week I've had that thought. |
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Now I want to design a combination of a staircase and a man
engine. |
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That's probably a paternoster elevator <link>. |
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Are you talking about my suggestion? Because what I'm
thinking of is more like the opposite, actually. |
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There's a pole switch joke in there somewhere... |
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