For those of you who helped me find a Prince Rupert’s Drop a few months ago, I come to you distressed again.
When I was a wee boy in Dallas, I remember going to some science museum and seeing a mechanical bell curve demonstration…it hung on the wall, like a poster in landscape mode with evenly spaced pegs and about 1,000 little metal ball bearings. It had a motor that would pick a ball from the reservoir at the bottom and drop it off at the top, letting it fall as it may into slots at the the bottom of the exhibit. When all the balls were gone (I presume with a timer), the slots opened, filling the reservoir and the process repeated itself.
Does anyone have any idea where to buy one of these things? I’ve emailed the museum and they have no idea (they deny even having one)…I’ve tried all the obvious search strings, but nada.
Thanks for your hunting skills in advance, Merry Christmas/Chanukah/Kwanzaa/New Year/Easter/et. al.
I suspect that no one manufactures such things. I’ve seen them a couple times in museums, but it looked to me like they were specially built by the museum staff.
Is this a thing that could actually work as a clock? I ask because I remember a friend having such a thing, and IF that is similar to the thing (note highly scientific language here) that you want, the fact that he had one would imply that it was available to purchase somehow. I think it was purchased on a sort of “put it together yourself” plan. (Disclaimer, that was in the U.K. over ten years ago, so it may not be much use even if it turned out to be a similar thingy.)
Only in the vaguest sense is this device like a clock. The only thing in common is that there is a device inside that releases balls one at a time. It’s possible that one could find something in the scavenged remains of a bell tower clock that might be useful in building this thing, but even that seems unlikely to me.
It sounds to me like you’re looking for a quincunx. I did a Google search and only found one place selling them, - http://www.qualitytng.com/what_is.htm - but you might try this word in other search engines. There were links to some quincunx Java applets.
If it is of any consequence, The Seattle science center has a giant machine that does this. Installed for the world’s fair way back when, and still running last time I was there 5 years or so ago.
that you want, the fact that he had one would imply that it was available to purchase somehow. I think it was purchased on a sort of “put it together yourself” plan. (Disclaimer, that was in the U.K. over ten years ago, so it may not be much use even if it turned out to be a similar thingy.)