need spring-energy-storage mechanism

[Michael A. Terrell]

What happens if you put butter on the top side of the cat?

It will be too slick to launch with the "Cat-A-Pult", and it'll leave
yet ANOTHER slick cat mess where it hits the ground. ;-)


--
Service to my country? Been there, Done that, and I've got my DD214 to
prove it.
Member of DAV #85.

Michael A. Terrell
Central Florida

 

[N:dlzc D:aol T:com \(dlzc\)]

Dear Don Lancaster:

....

What happens if you put butter on the top side of
the cat?

Is the cat toasted? This might very well split the cosmos in
half...

David A. Smith

 

[Homer J Simpson]

The famous Denniston Incline in New Zealand was a classic case of
putting this into action

http://tinyurl.com/2pxf3l
http://tinyurl.com/2gx6ph

As were many of the canal systems - including the Panama Canal, the Falkirk
Wheel and the Anderton boat-lift, using water instead of wire.

 

[Paul Burke]

As were many of the canal systems - including the Panama Canal, the Falkirk
Wheel and the Anderton boat-lift, using water instead of wire.

The Falkirk Wheel and the Anderton Lift are ares, not weres. Although
the FW (opened as recently as 2002) takes advantage of balancing by
opposed caissons, the energy to raise or lower (replacing losses) is
electric. The Anderton Lift was never counterbalanced, in either
original hydraulic form, kid- life electric form, or its current
restored hydraulic form.

There were many counterbalanced inclines though, particularly on
railways. One not far from here, at Chapel-en-le-Frith on the Peak
Forest Tramroad, used trains of wagons loaded with limestone to haul up
trains of empties from 1796 to the 1920s, with only a brake drum to
control the descent. For the rest of the trip, the trains ran by gravity
downhill, horse powered uphill. The horses stood in a wagon at the rear
of the train on the downhill trip.

Paul Burke

 

[Rich Grise]

You'd lose, on both counts. I'd anaesthetize the cat.

I doubt if unconscious cats land on their feet; I bet this one didn't:

Cheers!
Rich

 

[Rich Grise]

What happens if you put butter on the top side of the cat?

Why not do the experiment, and show us the video? >:->

Cheers!
Rich

 

[[email protected]]

i think i need a spring energy-storage mechanism. Maybe a very large
wind-up clock motor?

the scenario is: a slightly-valuable commodity originates at the top
of a mountain. More or less a bushel at a time. there is an existing
paved road. the commodity fetches a price, but not enough to pay for
very much transport.

the concept is to use a cargo bicycle, maybe with trailer, to carry
the items down to the bottom of the mountain, "winding up the clock"
on the spring-storage.

at the bottom, the load is transferred to buyers. the now very-much-
lighter bicycle is to be driven UP the mountain, using the stored
energy.

Any cat which will catch the mice is fine with me. I'm just thinking
that anything involving electricity, hydraulic fluids, etc, will be
too involved, and losses throguh two conversions. Capacitor storage
might be feasible, if there's high quality ones being sold. The charge
doesn't need to held for long amounts of time. Down the hill, then
back up.

Ideally, this will be a ready-to-go or mostly ready-to-go
commercial item. I am rather mechanically/electrically handy. But
this is business, not pleasure. Time spent should be cost-effective.

A 2 pound flywheel can store 4 man-hours of energy at about 80%
efficiency. This is a 5X better power to weight ratio than batteries.
(still only a fraction of that of gasoline).

 

[Donald]

A 2 pound flywheel can store 4 man-hours of energy at about 80%
efficiency. This is a 5X better power to weight ratio than batteries.
(still only a fraction of that of gasoline).

Interesting calculation, where did you find it ?

Where you someone buy a 2 pound flywheel ?

donald

 

[Bill]

Interesting calculation, where did you find it ?

Where you someone buy a 2 pound flywheel ?

donald

A 2 pound flywheel at what RPM and what diameter?
It also has to run on frictionless bearings and in a vacuum to actually
store the energy.
Science needs details.
Bill Baka

 

[default]

I doubt if unconscious cats land on their feet; I bet this one didn't:

Cheers!
Rich

Wait a minute, you're changing the rules on me. You didn't say
anything about the cat flying as well as being taped to toast.

Parachute? Stabilizing fins?

 

[Jasen]

i think i need a spring energy-storage mechanism. Maybe a very large
wind-up clock motor?

the scenario is: a slightly-valuable commodity originates at the top
of a mountain. More or less a bushel at a time. there is an existing
paved road. the commodity fetches a price, but not enough to pay for
very much transport.

contract a regular traveler to transport it for you. (all paved roads
are regularly traveled, and few people with wheeled transport are
greatly inconvenienced by carrying loads downhill)

 

[Jasen]

Yes, there is more left out of this problem than left in.
It is also possible (especially on a vertical drop system) to
put several "buckets" on a rotating system and continually
fill and empty them as the "go by". Basically a solid mass
version of a "water wheel".

Basically a bucket pump operating in reverse,

it needs pulleys that can accomodate the buckets, but little else.

Bye.
Jasen

 

[N:dlzc D:aol T:com \(dlzc\)]

Dear default:

Wait a minute, you're changing the rules on me.
You didn't say anything about the cat flying as
well as being taped to toast.

Parachute? Stabilizing fins?

Another branch of this thread... cat-a-pult.

David A. Smith

 

[John S.]

i think i need a spring energy-storage mechanism. Maybe a very large
wind-up clock motor?

the scenario is: a slightly-valuable commodity originates at the top
of a mountain. More or less a bushel at a time. there is an existing
paved road. the commodity fetches a price, but not enough to pay for
very much transport.

the concept is to use a cargo bicycle, maybe with trailer, to carry
the items down to the bottom of the mountain, "winding up the clock"
on the spring-storage.

at the bottom, the load is transferred to buyers. the now very-much-
lighter bicycle is to be driven UP the mountain, using the stored
energy.

Any cat which will catch the mice is fine with me. I'm just thinking
that anything involving electricity, hydraulic fluids, etc, will be
too involved, and losses throguh two conversions. Capacitor storage
might be feasible, if there's high quality ones being sold. The charge
doesn't need to held for long amounts of time. Down the hill, then
back up.

Ideally, this will be a ready-to-go or mostly ready-to-go
commercial item. I am rather mechanically/electrically handy. But
this is business, not pleasure. Time spent should be cost-effective.

I've come to the conclusion the author of this post is just another of
the internet trolls described in Wikipedia. One vaguely worded
question asking about using a spring powered bicycle to transport a
bushel of something of modest value from somewhere to somewhere. And
no further response.

 

[Brian Whatcott]

....
I've come to the conclusion the author of this post is just another of
the internet trolls described in Wikipedia. One vaguely worded
question asking about using a spring powered bicycle to transport a
bushel of something of modest value from somewhere to somewhere. And
no further response.

]

John is disturbed, because the poser of the question has not
responded. This response in newsgroups is not in fact unusual.

It reminds me that the US culture requires both a
"Thank you" for help from the helpee, and a "You're welcome"
from the helper, to be in good form.

But it is probably better to act as though one responds to requests
for input simply for one's own amusement or education.

Brian Whatcott Altus OK

 

[default]

I've come to the conclusion the author of this post is just another of
the internet trolls described in Wikipedia. One vaguely worded
question asking about using a spring powered bicycle to transport a
bushel of something of modest value from somewhere to somewhere. And
no further response.

He started a new thread saying we should forget about springs. And
posted one reply on that thread.

Half the folks that are posting through Google Groups don't understand
how to interact with Usenet, indeed, don't seem to know that they are
posting to Usenet or how to find their way back to what they posted.

But he did cross post to groups associated with his basic premise, so
he must have some understanding of Usenet.

But yeah, I agree, too much troll here to be a serious question.

Anyone that has ever tensioned a garage door spring, intended to
assist lifting a weight of at most 50-100 pounds a few feet, and saw
the spring that takes . . . wouldn't be seriously considering a spring
- just too damn heavy and large to get its own weight up the hill.

And the terms - only slightly valuable cargo, wouldn't demand a high
tech solution like regenerative brake bicycles, vacuum flywheels, or
springs that don't exist.

He won't describe the cargo in more detail or the mountain? On the
one hand he's saying its value hardly justifies the effort of moving
it, on the other hand, it must be very valuable if he can even
consider designing something that would be pushing the state of the
art. (and wants the location to remain a secret)

Contradictions. Troll bait.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troll_(Internet)



Trolling is a game about identity deception, albeit one that is played
without the consent of most of the players. The troll attempts to pass
as a legitimate participant, sharing the group's common interests and
concerns; the newsgroups members, if they are cognizant of trolls and
other identity deceptions, attempt to both distinguish real from
trolling postings, and upon judging a poster a troll, make the
offending poster leave the group. Their success at the former depends
on how well they — and the troll — understand identity cues; their
success at the latter depends on whether the troll's enjoyment is
sufficiently diminished or outweighed by the costs imposed by the
group.

 

[default]

It reminds me that the US culture requires both a
"Thank you" for help from the helpee, and a "You're welcome"
from the helper, to be in good form.

So he's French?

We North Americanos forget other cultures use the Internet.
Of course if he's reading a discourse on his posting style, and is a
troll, he's laughing his head off right now.

 

[Rich Grise]

Wait a minute, you're changing the rules on me. You didn't say
anything about the cat flying as well as being taped to toast.

Parachute? Stabilizing fins?

No, just the phenomena where cats always land on their feet and toast
always lands butter-side down. Tape (or clamp, or whatever) the toast to
the cat, and the assembly won't be able to land at all! ;-)

Cheers!
Rich

 

[Rich Grise]

John is disturbed, because the poser of the question has not
responded. This response in newsgroups is not in fact unusual.

It reminds me that the US culture requires both a
"Thank you" for help from the helpee, and a "You're welcome"
from the helper, to be in good form.

But it is probably better to act as though one responds to requests
for input simply for one's own amusement or education.

I think what the googlies do is ask their question and expect an answer to
pop up (or whatever) instantaneously. A few minutes pass, and they lose
interest and move on to something else, and disappear into the mists of
googledom. ;-)

Cheers!
Rich

 

[Michael A. Terrell]

He won't describe the cargo in more detail or the mountain?

For all we know, he may be making a mountain out of a molehill.


--
Service to my country? Been there, Done that, and I've got my DD214 to
prove it.
Member of DAV #85.

Michael A. Terrell
Central Florida