1. Rube Goldberg Machines
Steve Case
University of Mississippi
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January 2006

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Rube Goldberg
Reuben Lucius Goldberg
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
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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
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Rube Goldberg
Founding member of National Cartoonist Society
Pulitzer Prize winner
National figure, often-quoted television and radio personality
60-year career
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5. 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
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6. Invention for Opening the Garage Door without Getting out of the Car
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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.
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Simple Machines
Have few or no moving parts
Make work easier
Can be combined to create complex machines
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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 = F x d
By increasing the distance, you can decrease the force and still do the same amount of work.
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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.
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19. Invention for Opening the Garage Door without Getting out of the Car
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Sources
Edheads “Simple Machines.” Accessed January 28, <
Fyon, Eric. November 8, “Professor Beaker’s Learning Labs: What is an Inclined Plane?” Accessed January 28, <
Mikkelson, Barbara and David P “Cog.” Accessed January 28, <
Rube Goldberg, Inc “Rube Goldberg Machine Contest 2006.” Accessed January 28, <
Smith, Patrick “Vector Park.” Accessed January 28, <
Telegraph Group Limited “Lights! Camera! Retake!” Accessed January 28, <
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