Rube Goldberg Machines Steve Case University of Mississippi

Rube Goldberg Machines Steve Case University of Mississippi NSF NMGK-8 January 2006

Rube Goldberg Reuben Lucius Goldberg 1883 -1970 Born in San Francisco Graduated with engineering degree from University of California Berkeley • Worked as an engineer for City of San Francisco Water and Sewer Department • • NSF North Mississippi GK 8

Rube Goldberg • Convinced his father he wanted to work as an artist • Got a job as an office boy in sports department of a San Francisco newspaper • Kept submitting cartoons until he was published • Moved to New York to draw daily cartoons for Evening Mail NSF North Mississippi GK 8

Rube Goldberg • Founding member of National Cartoonist Society • Pulitzer Prize winner • National figure, oftenquoted television and radio personality • 60 -year career NSF North Mississippi GK 8

Rube Goldberg’s “INVENTIONS” • Cartoons that symbolized “man’s capacity for exerting maximum effort to accomplish minimal results” • Cartoons depicted convoluted machines functioning in complex ways to perform simple tasks • “Rube Goldberg” has become synonymous with any complex system achieving a basic task NSF North Mississippi GK 8

Invention for Opening the Garage Door without Getting out of the Car NSF North Mississippi GK 8

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So what. . . ? • Rube Goldberg machines are examples of complex machines. • All complex machines are made up of combinations of simple machines. • Rube Goldberg machines are usually a complicated combination of simple machines. • By studying the components of Rube Goldberg machines, we learn more about simple machines. NSF North Mississippi GK 8

Simple Machines • Have few or no moving parts • Make work easier • Can be combined to create complex machines NSF North Mississippi GK 8

Lever • A rigid board or rod free to rotate around a fixed point called a fulcrum • By varying position of load and fulcrum, load can be lifted or moved with less force • Trade off: must move lever large distance to move load small distance NSF North Mississippi GK 8

Inclined Plane • A slope or ramp that goes from a lower to higher level • Makes work easier by requiring less force to lift something a certain distance • Trade off: the distance the load must be moved would be greater than simply lifting it straight up NSF North Mississippi GK 8

Wheel and Axle • A larger circular wheel affixed to a smaller rigid rod at its center • Used to translate force across horizontal distances (wheels on a wagon) or to make rotations easier (a doorknob) • Trade off: the wheel must be rotated through a greater distance than the axle NSF North Mississippi GK 8

Screw • An inclined plane wrapped around a rod or cylinder • Used to lift materials or bind things together • Trade off: the screw must be rotated many times to move something a small distance NSF North Mississippi GK 8

Wedge • An inclined plane on its side • Used to cut or force material apart • Trade off: the wedge must be moved a large distance to separate the material a small distance NSF North Mississippi GK 8

Pulley • A rope or chain free to turn around a suspended wheel • By pulling down on the rope, a load can be lifted with less force • Trade off: no real trade off here; the secret is that the pulley lets you work with gravity so you add the force of your own weight to the rope NSF North Mississippi GK 8

The trick is WORK • Simple machines change the amount of force needed, but they do not change the amount of work done. • What is work? • Work equals force times distance • W=Fxd • By increasing the distance, you can decrease the force and still do the same amount of work. NSF North Mississippi GK 8

Examples: • Lever: • Work is equal on both sides of a lever. You move the long end a LARGE distance with SMALL force. The other end moves a SMALL distance with a LARGE force, which is why it can lift heavy objects. • Inclined Plane: • It takes a certain amount of work to get the cabinet into the truck. You can either exert a LARGE force to lift it the SMALL distance into the truck, or you can exert a SMALL force to move it a LARGE distance along the ramp. NSF North Mississippi GK 8

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Invention for Opening the Garage Door without Getting out of the Car NSF North Mississippi GK 8

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Sources Edheads. 2005. “Simple Machines. ” Accessed January 28, 2006. <http: //edheads. org/activities/simple-machines/sm-glossary. htm#s 2> Fyon, Eric. November 8, 1999. “Professor Beaker’s Learning Labs: What is an Inclined Plane? ” Accessed January 28, 2006. <http: //www. professorbeaker. com/plane_fact. html> Mikkelson, Barbara and David P. 2006. “Cog. ” Accessed January 28, 2006. <http: //www. snopes. com/autos/business/hondacog. asp> Rube Goldberg, Inc. 2006. “Rube Goldberg Machine Contest 2006. ” Accessed January 28, 2006. <http: //www. rube-goldberg. com/html/contest. htm> Smith, Patrick. 2006. “Vector Park. ” Accessed January 28, 2006. <http: //www. vectorpark. com/Levers. html> Telegraph Group Limited. 2006. “Lights! Camera! Retake!” Accessed January 28, 2006. <http: //www. opinion. telegraph. co. uk/news/main. jhtml? xml=/news/2003/04/13/nh onda 13. xml&s. Sheet=/news/2003/04/13/ixhome. html> NSF North Mississippi GK 8