Gravity Driven Mechanisms

[Guest Aemilius]

Turtle "again i disagree. there is no "wheel" [necessary] as part of the lock mechanism nor the water tower. they are unique gravity machines in their own rights."

 

Your confused.... The mechanism that causes the locks to operate is not powered by the movement of the water passing through the locks (see Panama Canal). Since the mechanism powering the locks is not driven by gravity it cannot be said that the locks are a "gravity driven mechanism". The lock is a separately powered mechanism that controls the flow of water, not a mechanism that derives power from the water as it descends.

Edited July 16, 2012 by Aemilius

[Turtle]

Turtle "again i disagree. there is no "wheel" [necessary] as part of the lock mechanism nor the water tower. they are unique gravity machines in their own rights."

 

Your confused.... The mechanism that causes the locks to operate is not powered by the movement of the water passing through the locks (see Panama Canal).

 

no, i am not confused. it is you who [still] does not know how a lock works. whether you like my answers or not is immaterial.

 

(from my earlier wiki link)

For a boat going upstream:

1–2. The boat enters the lock.

3. The lower gates are closed.

4–5. The lock is filled with water from upstream

6. The upper gates are opened.

7. The boat exits the lock.

 

For a boat going downstream:

8–9. The boat enters the lock.

10. The upper gates are closed.

11–12. The lock is emptied by draining its water downstream

13. The lower gates are opened.

14. The boat exits the lock.

 

ps a guillotine is another gravity operated mechanism.

[Guest Aemilius]

I think we're just misunderstanding each other, that's OK, we can just agree to disagree....

 

Turtle "ps a guillotine is another gravity operated mechanism"

 

Hah! Good one!

Edited July 16, 2012 by Aemilius

[belovelife]

how about a glider, gravity increases the resistance to the air, and causes it to glide?

[Turtle]

how about a glider, gravity increases the resistance to the air, and causes it to glide?

 

no, no, no! lift is imparted by air moving over the airfoil shaped wing. a wing would give lift even in the absence of gravity. gravity has nothing to do with the resistance of the 'air' save for imparting density.

 

moving on, while not exclusively gravity driven, lift bridges rely on counterweights of equal or greater weight [depending on design] than the roadway that is lifted.

[Guest Aemilius]

belovelife "how about a glider, gravity increases the resistance to the air, and causes it to glide?"

 

Hadn't thought of that one either, definitely a mechanism that functions as a direct result of the influence of gravity.

Edited July 16, 2012 by Aemilius

[Turtle]

the trebuchet is a gravity driven mechanism.

 

trebuchet

[Guest Aemilius]

Turtle "the trebuchet is a gravity driven mechanism."

 

Another good one.... There's way more than I thought of.

[Turtle]

I think we're just misunderstanding each other, that's OK, we can just agree to disagree....

 

 

 

no; i think you don't understand how locks work.

 

following up on my claim gravity isn't necessary for a glider, here's a video of a paper glider flying in the space shuttle.

 

paper airplane in space shuttle

[belovelife]

good point, but the fact that the glider flies in space just proves it moves through air,

 

while on earth, it glides through air, and because of gravity, it's added resistance to the air, keeps it moving,

 

along with added energy from the sun, as drafts of air

so i guess its not totally gravity driven , but partially solar powered

[Turtle]

good point, but the fact that the glider flies in space just proves it moves through air,

 

while on earth, it glides through air, and because of gravity, it's added resistance to the air, keeps it moving,

 

along with added energy from the sun, as drafts of air

so i guess its not totally gravity driven , but partially solar powered

 

:doh: no, no, no. you have cobbled up one grand misunderstanding there. the glider on earth is falling because of gravity, yes; but it is "flying" because of aerodynamics. notice in the video the paper glider turns back to the thrower. that motion, i.e. the flying/turning, is a function of air flow over the wings and the air pressure is mechanically induced and not dependent on gravity in the shuttle.

 

if we want to include free-falling human-made mechanisms as gravity mechanisms, the initial impetus aside, then we can include all ballistic mechanisms from artillery shells to ballistic missle warheads.

Edited July 16, 2012 by Turtle

[Guest Aemilius]

Turtle "no; i think you don't understand how locks work."

 

Everyone knows how locks work.... electric (or other) motors are used to control the flow of water under the force of gravity through a canal by opening and closing gates. The gates are not powered by the water flowing through the canal. The one system (powered by electric or other motors) is used to control another system (water moving under the force of gravity).

 

Turtle "following up on my claim gravity isn't necessary for a glider, here's a video of a paper glider flying in the space shuttle."

 

Whatever.... A rock will "fly" in microgravity (with or without air) just as well as a paper airplane will (with or without air).

 

Thanks for your comments Turtle, but I'm not responding to any more of your posts.

 

So, moving on, what do all gravity powered mechanisms have in common?

Edited July 17, 2012 by Aemilius

[Turtle]

locks in England

Turtle "no; i think you don't understand how locks work."

 

Everyone knows how locks work.... electric (or other) motors are used to control the flow of water under the force of gravity through a canal by opening and closing gates. The gates are not powered by the water flowing throught the canal. The one system (powered by electric or other motors) is used to control another system (water moving under the force of gravity).

 

Turtle "following up on my claim gravity isn't necessary for a glider, here's a video of a paper glider flying in the space shuttle."

 

Whatever.... A rock will "fly" in microgravity (with or without air) just as well as a paper airplane will (with or without air).

 

Thanks for your comments Turtle, but I'm not responding to any more of your posts.

 

So, moving on, what do all gravity powered mechanisms have in common?

 

alas, i will be responding to yours. if you allow for humans winding your weight-driven clock as a gravity mechanism, then you must allow humans opening gates. it is gravity that lifts the boats; period. moreover, England is full of locks with no motors. to whit:

 

locks in England

The Cheshire Ring travels through a variety of country and elevations. Consequently, there are almost a hundred locks to lift boats along the canal. The typical lock has two long arms connected to the tall wooden gate. Pushing the arms opens and closes the gates. There are also two sets of hand cranks to open or close paddles that allow water into or out of the lock. Opening top paddles fills the lock, and opening the bottom paddles empties it. Whew! ...

 

as to a rock flying like the paper plane, pure poppycock. did you watch the video? just exactly how do you propose to get a rock to turn around as the plane does?

[Guest Aemilius]

So, moving on, what do gravity driven mechanisms (such as the water wheel and weight driven clock) have in common?

[Turtle]

So, moving on, what do gravity driven mechanisms (such as the water wheel and weight driven clock) have in common?

 

no; we're not moving on until you acknowledge your errors. might as well spill your agenda while you're at it; i have little doubt it is propounded on error as well. that's a good boy.

[belovelife]

i know, they both take time :)

[Guest Aemilius]

belovelife "i know, they both take time"

 

Right, they both take time.... and they both "run down". In other words they either run down (like the weight driven clock) or must continuously be supplied with mass at a higher level of potential in order to continue functioning as intended (like the waterwheel).

 

Turtle "no; we're not moving on until you acknowledge your errors. might as well spill your agenda while you're at it; i have little doubt it is propounded on error as well."

 

Alright Turtle.... I'll accept your version of how and why locks work. I didn't come here to argue with you, I came here because I'm running out of time and I need your help. I can see now from your posts over the years that you're very knowledgable, which makes you (and the others here) a valuable asset I would be foolish to ignore. If you read my introduction you know I dropped out of school at an early age, but that doesn't mean I haven't continued to try and learn.

 

The reason I started this thread by trying to list all the various forms of gravity driven mechanisms was only to illustrate how they all either run down (like the weight driven clock) or must continuously be supplied with mass at a higher level of potential in order continue functioning as intended (like the waterwheel).

 

So, let me "spill my agenda" as you put it.... I started out many years ago by looking into the whole "motor running the generator that powers the motor" scenario. Not surprisingly, I couldn't make it work.

 

Next, I spent some time trying to devise a permanent magnet arrangement that would result in something comparable to what an electric motor does. Again, not surprisingly, I couldn't make that work either.

 

Then, I started to think about gravity.... like over balancing wheels, pendulums, etc. I built several but again, not surprisingly, encountered negative results.

 

Not ready to give up, I wondered whether there might be some way of applying direct current electric motor theory with its accompanying periodic reversal of electromagnetic polarity to the gravitational force in the sense of finding some way of mechanically "commutating" it (the gravitational force) in order to achieve the desired result. That's where I'm at now and I think I may finally be on to something.... probably not, but that's what I'm here to find out.

 

Interested in exploring this?

Edited July 22, 2012 by Aemilius