Lariat chain

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

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.

The original Lariat Chain was created in 1986 by Norman Tuck, as an Artist-in-Residence project[1] at the Exploratorium in San Francisco.

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 Lariat Chain, Chain Reaction used a brush to affect the motion of the traveling chain.

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

See also

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lariat chains.