Question |
| Asked by: |
Tony McKenna |
| Subject: |
Any follow up on Prof. Laithwaite's lecture experiment? |
| Question: |
During his lecture professor Laithwaite showed a trolly with a swinging pendulum. Only one swing was shown on TV and the trolly moved about 18 ins. I have always believed that a full rotation of the pendulum might have been more interesting! Has anyone tried it!
I was astounded to read Sandy Kidd's account of coming down aircraft steps and turning around and being kicked by the gyro he was carrying.
I had an identical experience! I removed a supposedly faulty gyro from the NBS system (H2S Radar) on a Victor bomber, the gyro was still running and I turned right at the bottom of the steps only to receive a push/kick of sufficient force to make me stagger backwards. I recall holding onto the gyro with considerable difficulty lest I be disciplined for damaging government property! |
| Date: |
20 July 2003
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Answers (Ordered by Date)
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| Answer: |
sam - 24/07/2003 23:25:23
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| | Hi tony
Could you please give an accurate description of this device ie the trolley with a gyro in it ?
A drawing would be wonderful :)
My email is agrita@wanadoo.fr
Thanks !
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| Answer: |
Nitro MacMad - 01/08/2003 01:09:34
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| | Dear Tony,
The Pendulum devise was originally suggested by Alex Jones of Alderney and, although it cheated a bit by using rollers instead of ball bearings, showed that it was possible to move a machine, by motions created soley within that machine, outside its starting dimention.
Eric Laithwaite (God bless his cotton socks for being able to think that "All thing are possible" and for being prepaired to risk all by putting his head above the parapit - only to have it shot at by - chose your own rude word here .) only failed because he went public to the Royal Sociaty too early and was destroyed by them.
I know he had indead produced the unidirectional force he sought but, sadly, did not understand that it was imediately counterd by the following motion of the machine.
The Kidd machine does/did the same. Somehow repeating the first (succesful) stroke without countering its effect defeated them.
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| Answer: |
Dr D.J.Fisher - 24/05/2004 03:11:07
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| | A small factual correction (I am ignoring the numerous spelling errors): Laithwaite presented his silly ideas to the Royal Institution; not the Royal Society. The RI has always been a poor relation and, apart from Faraday, has never really achieved the level of the RS.
By the way, I am reliably informed (by a mutual friend) that Jones died of alcoholism a few years ago.
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