I like the style, and somewhat disagree with the substance. The hammock example is good, but a lot of people could be confused between static (force needed to hold it) and dynamic (force needed to raise it). you and I know that any tiny amount over the holding requirement will cause it to raise, but that’s not an obvious thing to everyone.
I think it’s not also clear in the hammock example how to multiply the effect. Once you add pulleys / block-and-tackle, it scales as much as you want—each additional loop adds to the effect; N times as much distance with 1/N as much force. This also maps to gear ratios and how they multiply if multiple gears are in play.
Thanks for the comment. I just added a P.S. section to show how the hammock proof of concept works for fancier pulleys with higher mechanical advantage.
I like the style, and somewhat disagree with the substance. The hammock example is good, but a lot of people could be confused between static (force needed to hold it) and dynamic (force needed to raise it). you and I know that any tiny amount over the holding requirement will cause it to raise, but that’s not an obvious thing to everyone.
I think it’s not also clear in the hammock example how to multiply the effect. Once you add pulleys / block-and-tackle, it scales as much as you want—each additional loop adds to the effect; N times as much distance with 1/N as much force. This also maps to gear ratios and how they multiply if multiple gears are in play.
Thanks for the comment. I just added a P.S. section to show how the hammock proof of concept works for fancier pulleys with higher mechanical advantage.