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Friday, August 03, 2007

Balancing the Forces, Part 2


"QUANTUM SHOT" #242


Arranging Ordinary Objects in an Extraordinary Way

In our first article "Top 10 Most Curious States of Equilibrium" we've outlined some interesting - even outrageous - states of balance, which many readers found hard to believe, unless convinced through their own experience. We received many reports of successful replication of these feats, documented with photographs. So it's time to complement our previous post with pictures received in our mail, and the rest found mostly here and here.

But first, a few vintage example of mind-bending balance, done for the camera:
(most images are from vintagephoto)







(images credit: vintagephoto)

Now, on with the balancing objects:






































(images credit: Igrushka.kz and Knuttz)


The following videos illustrate the most classic examples of equilibrium:







(videos credit: Curiosoperoinutil)


People in Sri Lanka are masters of this special "Balancing Act":


(image credit: Exodus.co.uk)

Balancing rocks could be a topic for a separate post, bearing in mind how popular it is among various artists - expertly balancing whatever shapes nature gives them.


(image credit: Jeff Ambrose)

READ THE FIRST PART OF THIS ARTICLE

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COMMENTS:

6 Comments:

Blogger B. Durbin said...

My father made a pedestal for a sundial by taking several natural rocks and stacking them to find a way that they would balnce before cementing them in place. He said there was no reason to have gravity working against him.

___  
Blogger Sergei said...

Good day.

to insert ...

http://igrushka.kz/vip56/intraf.php

http://igrushka.kz/vip56/intraf2.php

http://igrushka.kz/vip56/intraf3.php

author: Tom Tit

___  
Blogger Avi Abrams said...

Thank you Sergei

I think we've covered these in our first post :)

___  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Bill Dan, rock balancing artist:
http://billdan.blogspot.com/

___  
OpenID superbeast said...

Wow, its very great.

___  
Blogger Eliyahu said...

If we look carefully at the bottle with two cardboard rings balanced on it, about halfway down, there's a small nail supporting the right side of the bottle. It's not as much of a balancing demonstration as first meets the eye.

___  

Post a Comment

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  • The gas powered pogo stick was actualy manufactured, at least in limited numbers. I've seen one.
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  • It was called "The Hop Rod". Here's the website, with video, even.
    http://www.thehoprod.com/
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    www.loveinventions.com
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    They use long, hollow metal sticks with ridges. They rub wooden sticks across the ridges to coax the sand out a grain at a time.
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  • Thank you Dave, you got good site there.
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    Pic I
    Pic II
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    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lethbridge_Viaduct
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  • tried to put a link up too, but it ate the link

    www.deseretnews.com/dn/sview/1,3329,250010322,00.html
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  • ^ I was just about to post the same link James...

    http://www.deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,250010322,00.html

    Another casualty was Ray Peck's family in Skull Valley. They were likely hit with low doses of the nerve gas from a Dugway Proving Ground test that accidentally killed 6,000 sheep near their home in 1968. The Pecks lived but haven't been the same since.
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  • There was an incident at Fort Polk, Louisiana in the late spring/early summer of 1987 in which containers of mustard gas were unearthed while trenches for underground cables were being dug. It took nearly a month to clean up the site, and all involved, including myself, were told to keep our mouth's shut. The Army clamped down on this, and the story never went public...how many times has something like this happened, I wonder?
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  • Thanks for pics!


    >> I think the following 3 photos are fake. What do you think?

    I think so. Looks like an advertisment of a camera with powerful zoom.
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  • Some amazingly funny pics there..great fun!
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  • This photo is staged (photoshopped) but too funny
    -----------------------------
    the guy who bumbs a vase is not photoshopped, it was a dutch commercial....
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    He uses to work there with his wife.
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  • >> I think the following 3 photos are fake. What do you think?

    my guess is they're fake. the guy with the camera seems to be wearing the same shoes in all 3 shots
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  • So funny! hihih
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  • Very good!
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  • Ha ha - some very funny stuff -
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  • Another great automated musical installation is If VI was IX, a huge automated sculpture by Trimpin at the Experience Music Project in Seattle. It plays loops of music in different styles on a number of automated guitars, banjos, keyboards, etc. Plus it looks awesome. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trimpin
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  • I'm surprised you didn't mention the band Captured! By Robots which consists of one human and a band of automatons. See http://www.capturedbyrobots.com/.
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  • What about that: http://www.graffagnino.net/wwwpeart/ ?
    :)
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  • thank you guys... will update with the first opportunity. good stuff.
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  • All the automatic instruments look fantastic.

    Post by Dan,
    Webmaster of http://www.gadgets-club.com the newest gadgets blog
    Read more

  • Interesting post!

    Godfried-Willem Raes may have some original ideas about things, but at least some of what he builds is nothing new...

    First, let's take a look at his "Klung", a supposed "metal anklung" that he built.

    Raes Klung

    If you look at it, you may notice it bears a striking resemblance to the vintage percussion instrument the Deagan Shaker Chimes (AKA "Deagan Organ Chimes"):

    Deagan photo

    Deagan article

    As you can read in the article, these vintage production-line chimes WERE based on the Anklung... so really, Mr. Raes' idea is nothing new.

    Neither is automating them, apparently. The House On the Rock in Wisconsin has no less than THREE sets of Deagan Shaker [Organ] Chimes, all rigged to play (more-or-less) automatically with various ensembles; respectively the Blue Danube Room (opened in 1991),

    Blue Danube Room

    the Red Room (opened in 1978),

    Red Room

    and the Circus Room Orchestra (opened sometime in the 1980's).

    Circus Orchestra

    The chimes in the Blue Danube ensemble (a rather ersatz affair made from an old Mortier dance organ facade) are especially notable, not only because each chime assembly has been taken out of its stand and arrayed visually at the top of the ensemble (rather than being left in the original rack like the other 2 sets),

    Upper part of Blue Danube

    but also because they are the only real tuned musical instruments in the whole ensemble! (the string and other non-percussion sounds are produced by synthesizers and emanate from a large speaker hidden behind the tympani on the far right).

    Speaker in Blue Danube
    Read more

  • Wow Andrew, thank you for the wonderful info.
    The first Blue Danube image link is broken.
    Will cover some more in our next part in this series!
    Read more

  • I wonder what that thing sounds like>
    Read more

  • Fantastic automated musical instrument!! wish i have musical instrument someday!! give a thumbs up on su!!
    Read more


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