Lab 01 ube Goldberg Machine
Purpose
Students will consider the interplay
of physics sub-branches within a very
complicated mechanism.
Theory
A Rube Goldberg machine refers to
a ridiculously complicated, multistage
mechanical device, which ultimately is
used to perform a relatively easy task.
The name is that of a cartoonist whose
forte consisted of humorous sketches
in newspapers showing absurdly overengineered contraptions to comb oneÊhair or open a bottle or the like. Rube
Goldberg did not invent the concept.
The typical goal of those who build
real Rube Goldberg machines is to use
as many kinds of physical interaction
as possible, and to amaze spectators.
The palette of interactions comes from
the laws of mechanics. This has main
sub-branches of kinematics (motion of
launched objects), dynamics (forces on
any object), energy exchange, inertia
(one object colliding with another),
rigid-body mechanics (turning objects),
thermodynamics (heat flow), material
deformations, fluid mechanics, orbital
mechanics, and oscillations (such as in
a pendulum). All of these except orbital
mechanics are accessible when making
a Rube Goldberg machine.
One especially elaborate instance
of such a machine was used in a music
video by OK GO. A team of engineers
designed and erected a bewilderingly
complex device on two floors of a large
warehouse to go with the song. Adam
Sadowski was in charge of the project
and gave a Ted Talk about it, showing
the video at the end. This can be found
at the following link on YouTube. The
actual music video starts near 7:30.

Procedure
1. Watch the video linked above and
pay attention. To watch only the Rube
Goldberg machine in operation, skip to
7.5 minutes, but the lead-up discussion
is somewhat interesting, too.
Analysis
Please answer each of the following
questions in Canvas, and use complete,
grammatically correct sentences:
1. Pick an interaction from the entire
sequence as a favorite: Why was it so
interesting? (This need not have a long
answer. Itàjust a matter of curiosity.)
2. How many interactions occurred in
this Rube Goldberg machine video? In
other words, how many stages were
there? (Counting them all is subjective
and difficult, but don just give Adam
Sadowskiàanswer; watch once more
and try to get a rough count of distinct
stages within the mechanism. Write
the number inside a complete sentence
such as `counted 126.J3. Out of the array of mechanics subbranches listed in the Theory section
above, are there any that were not used
other than orbital mechanics? Specify
which one(s).

Purchase answer to see full
attachment