jaw@ames.UUCP (James A. Woods) (11/10/84)
# Then wear the gold hat, if that will move her;
If you can bounce high, bounce for her too,
Till she cry "Lover, gold-hatted, high-bouncing lover,
I must have you!"
-- F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby [1925], epigraph
In May, I reported in this space the acquisition of an odd and
captivating toy -- a handmade 105 lb. rubber ball. I mused about its playful
possibilities, but only today have actually carried out a recurring
fantasy, the risky defenestration of such from the top of a building.
The original blurb is attached for reference.
The chosen launching pad was the 60 ft. high structure next to
the trailer where I work, home of the Aerospace Human Factors Research
Division (as well as SETI, bedrest studies for space exploration,
Shuttle simulator mockups, etc.) at the NASA Ames Research Center.
Since I had been thinking about the event all summer, even to the
point of monitoring traffic patterns, ejection and vantage points
for maximum exposure, safety, and filmic potential, I was ready.
As the affectionately dubbed "R. Bandy" was visiting the site
anyway, for some in-house publicity photos (including some great shots
of him sitting at the console of a VAX, nestling amidst the clutter
of my cubicle, and otherwise posing in a most narcissistic way),
Bandy was ready also.
A gathering was convened (informally, to avoid the wrath of
any safety committees or other bureaucratic kibitzers) and R. Bandy was
escorted up four stories via the freight elevator. I really wanted
to project Bandy from the much higher blimp hangar or the 80x120 wind tunnel,
but sense prevailed. We loaded a stock of ASA 1000 film, the Perception
and Cognition Lab not having swift enough access to a blank-enough video
tape for the PortaPak setup. The anxious crowd could not be further
delayed beyond their 5 p.m. appointment.
The flight: over the lip of the newly-tarred roof, hoping to
avoid nearby dumpster, pickup truck (it surely would be compromised), and
assemblage of pressurized helium and nitrogen tanks on the loading dock.
The surface: government issue concrete, estimates of Bandy's first-bounce
height ranging from 1/3 to 2/3 of the flight path. [Note: elastic
collision theory eludes me, and the coefficient of restitution could not
be calculated].
The moment: two musclemen and a wimp (me) easing Bandy into
the void, awaiting the smack and crunch. Observers reported a 45-50%
rebound, and after a twangy boinnnnnng and a strangely muffled spronnnnnng
it was all over in six or seven bounces and a gentle roll. No damage (whew)!
As for worlds yet left to conquer, Hoover tower at Stanford or the
campanile at Berkeley would be nice ... and, if I ever make it to an
S.F. Bay Area USENET party, Bandy will be there too.
Oh, and as to the net-elicited suggestions--I'm afraid they were
all too sadistic a treatment for my newfound friend. And I just didn't
have my dung beetle costume or Sisyphus outfit ready in time for Halloween.
Until next year, follow the bouncing ball!
-- James A. Woods {ihnp4,hao,hplabs}!ames!jaw
--------------------------
Subject: Defenestration of 105 lb. rubber ball from 7th floor
Newsgroups: net.physics,net.misc
# Problems worthy of attack,
Prove their worth by hitting back. -- Piet Hein
Last weekend I became the proud possessor of a most unusual
objet d'art. After succumbing to the spirit of an annual street fair
in my neighborhood, I rolled home my purchase -- a 105 lb. sphere made
out of industrial-strength rubber bands!
It was constructed during two years of spare time by an unemployed
janitor named Rene Viegas. He explained that his children were tired
of their strange toy, and besides, he needed the bucks ($45).
The enormity of this achievement is still sinking in, and
I intend to submit word of his accomplishment to the Guinness Book.
It is approximately 20 inches in diameter (beachball sized),
and looks like the insides of a larger-than-life golfball.
Anyway, the thing actually bounces, and since my window is about
75ft. above street level, I'm wondering (physics freaks take note),
how high it would bounce if defenestrated, and what sort of damage it
might cause after the second bounce. I understand that nonlinearities
within the mass might make this hard to predict.
For you left-brained analytics, suggestions as to its use
are welcome. It has already impressed me as a handy conversation piece
and a not-too-uncomfortable chair.
-- James A. Woods {dual,hplabs,hao,research}!ames!jaw
P.S.
Legen Sie Ihr Geld in Dada an! (Invest in dada.)moriarty@fluke.UUCP (Jeff Meyer) (11/14/84)
It is good to know that even as we Averge Joe's and Josephine's go about our
business, supporting our community and families, keeping the democratic
society alive, and giving that quack paperboy Hell, that there are men and
women who see beyond the veneer of the present, and view possibilities and
rebounds undreamed of. Mr. Woods, thank you (I also liked you in "Against
all Odds"... do you have Rachael Ward's phone number?).
SCIENCE MARCHES ON! (what?)
Moriarty, aka Jeff Meyer
John Fluke Mfg. Co., Inc.
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