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I overengineered a spinning top [video]

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Re: I overengineered a spinning top [video]

#41
post #5

For a real spinning top over engineered https://youtu.be/QLTsxXNekVE?si=S31kpZQHiYlUSedx

It's fascinating that you can get to the level of atomic material properties as a spinning top hacker. Diamond seems like it'd be the obvious winner, if you could somehow get a perfectly polished and smooth surface. I'd love to see a small Prince Rupert's drop for a tip and a ruby/sapphire spinning surface - you'd need to make a ton of drops, probably, but having a round, nearly spherical contact geometry and super s…

Until it wears just a smidgen and explodes violently!

Re: I overengineered a spinning top [video]

#43
post #33

Guinness book of world records lists a 7+ hour unassisted spin of a wooden top, and a mechanical-assist (like this one) of 41+ hours How long would a better battery go here? I'm curious what the jump from 2-> 40+ hours requires

Vacuum chamber?

No doesn't appear so. Seems to be just in open air. They've got a kickstarter done for one that does 6+ hours

Guess it's cnc milled, maybe that's part of it. Increase mass of the thing? Idk

Re: I overengineered a spinning top [video]

#44
post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Vacuum chamber?

No doesn't appear so. Seems to be just in open air. They've got a kickstarter done for one that does 6+ hours Guess it's cnc milled, maybe that's part of it. Increase mass of the thing? Idk

he is also using development boards wired together rather than a custom pcb. there's a good chance the choice of passive components, removal of unneeded components, and better optimized power converters can improve the design.

Re: I overengineered a spinning top [video]

#45
An interesting fact is that spinning tops are extremely ancient toys.

For instance, a spinning top is already mentioned in the Iliad of Homer, where he compares the rotation of a certain warrior after receiving a very strong off-center strike with the rotation of a spinning top ("strombo-" in Ancient Greek).

Re: I overengineered a spinning top [video]

#46
Well: while measuring spinning durations of different spinning tops one should apply the same strength: not easy if done by hand

I am curious:

* will spinning *direction* (clockwise, or anti-clockwise) effect spinning duration?

* and being in Northern Hemisphere vs South Hemisphere (Coriolis effect)?

Re: I overengineered a spinning top [video]

#48
post #13

Saw this last week, really enjoyed the tenacity in problem-solving!! Did make me wonder if you could build a solid state one using well-timed pulses through an electromagnet that provide torque through the field interaction with the earth's magnetic field. Not much torque available there obviously, but on a per-revolution basis you don't need much.

The physics of magnetic torquing maybe could probably work in most if not all locations on Earth for a sufficiently small and power dense vertical top that spins sufficiently slow. Want the smallest possible local dot product of gravity vector and magnetic field for an ordinary top (without considering "sideways" tops), which may lead to better performance in some locations on Earth (could map this with e.g. IGRF). 3D field actuation would be beneficial to allow higher efficiency and longer periods of actuation around the window where the Earth's magnetic field is maximized in the spun plane, while minimizing imbalance: this actuation timing is probably the only strategy that would make practical sense for most of the magnetic power, because you will need to take a break once in a while for sensing. Another practically difficult part would be avoiding on-board soft iron noise in magnetic field, because higher spin speed would require the device and environment to damp out the device-induced magnetic field at a higher minimum rate to afford any budget for accurate sensing of the background field during the "off"-time. That is: sensing trades with spin speed because it takes non-zero time and requires a stable environment.

To implement this, I think you'd first want to test in a controlled environment with a larger magnetic field and then gradually turn down the applied field until it is Earth-like. I am honestly unsure whether you could practically get there, so earlier I used the words "maybe could", but humans are crazy so I appended the "probably".

This would be a fun YouTube video to watch.

Re: I overengineered a spinning top [video]

#49

Well: while measuring spinning durations of different spinning tops one should apply the same strength: not easy if done by hand I am curious: * will spinning *direction* (clockwise, or anti-clockwise) effect spinning duration? * and being in Northern Hemisphere vs South Hemisphere (Coriolis effect)?

Coriolis forces appear only on objects that have a translation motion relative to the Earth, and which also has a direction distinct from that of the rotation of the Earth, i.e. either a north to south (or reverse) or vertical motion.

If the axis of the spinning top is stationary relatively to Earth, there are no Coriolis forces.

For a big spinning top, there could be non-negligible periodic Coriolis forces acting on the periphery of the spinning top, but they would be compensated by the rigidity of the top and in any case their average over a complete rotation of the top would be null.

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