paper tower help

[gorobei]

jaime mantzel had a youtube video about a bridge challenge made with plastic forks and knives when he was in college.

his solution: screw tape and glue, he melted the plastic utensils into a giant 4x12 bridge plank to span the 8ft or so distance. he even stood on it jumped up and down to demonstrate the strength.

 

[John Connor]

Now for a real assignment: What is the angular speed, measured in radians per second of a motor if RPM is 300?

 

[Safeway]

I would get a roll of butcher paper (1m wide) and create a slightly coned shape. The base of the cone can be maybe 0.5m wide, and the top of the cone 0.25m wide (your loading area). Do lots of layers and use lots of tape. The larger paper format will make it much stronger, and you will quickly get up to 1.6m tall. Make sure that the top and bottom are both flat - so the bottom makes even contact with the floor, and the top makes even contact with the load.

You may be able to brace the interior.

Sorta like this:

 

[DrPizza]

Roll paper into a tube large enough to support the mass. Test the mass on the top of the paper. If the paper buckles, then add another half piece of paper and repeat. Once you find the thickness of the tube necessary to support the weight of that mass, simply connect a series of tubes together. Then, folding paper into triangles, build a truss system to help support your tube. Basically, like some of the tallest skyscrapers - central columns support the weight.

 

[DrPizza]

Oh - I wouldn't have given you an answer, but I like the problem. I'll turn it into a physics olympics problem for next year.