Lariat chain

A lariat chain is a loop of chain that hangs off, and is spun by a wheel. It is often used as a science exhibit or a toy.

A lariat chain at the Museu de la Ciencia (science museum), in Barcelona, Spain.

The original lariat chain was created in 1986 by Norman Tuck, as an artist-in-residence project^[1] at the Exploratorium in San Francisco.

The lariat chain was developed from an earlier Tuck piece entitled Chain Reaction (1984). Chain Reaction was hand cranked, and utilized a heavy chain attached by magnets onto an iron flywheel. As in the lariat chain, Chain Reaction used a brush to disrupt the motion of the traveling chain.

The speed of the chain is arranged to equal the wave speed of transverse waves,^[2] so that waves moving against the motion of the chain appear to be standing still.^[3][4]

See also

• Belt (mechanical)
• Foucault pendulum
• Launch loop has similar potential instabilities

References

1. "Exhibit Cross Reference – Lariat Chain". Exploratorium. Retrieved 2014-03-17.
2. "Transverse and Longitudinal Waves". hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu. Retrieved 2016-02-13.
3. Exploratorium Archived 2008-10-05 at the Wayback Machine
4. "normantuck.com". Archived from the original on 2021-01-25. Retrieved 2008-07-25.

External links

• Coilgun info: Lariat Chain Introduction
• Kinetic Chain sculpture built from a bicycle
• Instructables how-to
• Simulation of a Lariat chain