Lowest Possible Gears

Ben C said:

Ryan Cousineau said:

In article <[email hidden]>,
[email hidden] wrote:

[...]

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Posters who know something about frictional losses with actual gearing
raise problems that make it equally unlikely that any rider is going
to raise 800 tons elevator-style with any faintly bicycle-like gear.

I think I would do the trick with hydraulics or possibly pneumatics.
This may take a while....

I was wondering if a series-generator-motor setup might be the way to
go. But probably only because I understand even less well how to
estimate the losses in such a system 🙂

As has been pointed out, efficiency losses cost you power, not force.
Who cares about power given enough time? I'm assuming the occupants of
the train aren't in a hurry.

Dear Ben,

I looked into a brilliant scheme to put the ten cars into a sort of
rising drydock and have the rider pump the train uphill.

Unfortunately, hauling 800 tons of water higher and higher up the
mountain from the original spring took longer and longer than the
lifetimes of the passengers.

Cheers,

Carl Fogel

In article <[email hidden]>,

Ben C said:

Ryan Cousineau said:

In article <[email hidden]>,
[email hidden] wrote:

[...]

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Posters who know something about frictional losses with actual gearing
raise problems that make it equally unlikely that any rider is going
to raise 800 tons elevator-style with any faintly bicycle-like gear.

I think I would do the trick with hydraulics or possibly pneumatics.
This may take a while....

I was wondering if a series-generator-motor setup might be the way to
go. But probably only because I understand even less well how to
estimate the losses in such a system 🙂

As has been pointed out, efficiency losses cost you power, not force.
Who cares about power given enough time? I'm assuming the occupants of
the train aren't in a hurry.

I argue, without supporting evidence, that static friction in a
compound system of worm gears could not be overcome by one man.

A practical system where one man operated a pump to raise water
probably could be designed. The raised water could then be
released and provide sufficient power to inch the load up.

200 watt ~ 10^6 kg . g . 0.00002 m/sec.

An eight hour day could net half a meter, with 100% efficiency.

--
Michael Press

Quoted message said:

Of course, I'd love to find out that I'm wrong and that there is a
practical way for a rider on a bicycle-shaped contraption to elevate
800 tons an appreciable distance, or for a pair of AAA batteries to
move a 200-lb bike and rider down to the end of a block.

*practical*? That's a bit of a changed goalpost. I never said it was
*practical*, in fact I explicitly denied it beign practical.

Jasper