

Surreal Appeal of the Falkirk Wheel - KaiP
http://quazen.com/arts/architecture/the-surreal-appeal-of-the-falkirk-wheel/

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thristian
I'd just like to say this story has the best headline I've read all day.

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gacek
What they don't say in the article is that the canals allow a really nice bike
trip across Scotland (Edinburgh-Glasgow). Just get on a morning train and
cycle back. There is no way you'll miss the Falkirk Wheel.

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TrevorJ
That is amazing. It isn't often you find such a good marriage of form and
function. Am I right in thinking that this would be more efficient than
conventional locks? They don't have to actually pump any water in this design,
and the boat is essentially counterbalanced by the cantilever design so the
rotational force needed to turn the wheel would be minimal.

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edrtghuj
You don't have to pump any water in conventional locks - you rely on having a
source of water (lake) higher than the top lock.

The wheel is quicker than a series of locks (not important for leisure use)
more expensive to build but it's probably cheaper to maintain than 20 locks.

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Retric
The wheel still uses energy from the water source to lift the craft. The real
advantage is it takes far less water while looking cool. It’s also tall for a
lock.

I think the most efficient system to build and use would be a "bucket" and
pulley’s attacked to a counter weight. Granted it would have far less summitry
and not look as cool. The main advantage to locks is they scale really well
but they use more water.

PS: I can't help but wonder how they counterbalance the buoyancy when one end
dips into the water. Those curved tips might help and I can world out the
geometry in my head but I think they just brute force it.

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DannoHung
I don't think any of it dips into the water. It looks like there's a dug out
portion for the wheel to turn into.

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Retric
Thanks, I just noticed that the edges where not wet in the pictures so I think
you are correct.

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camtarn
I never thought I'd see a link about Falkirk on HN. I live just up the road
from the Wheel :) It's pretty incredible to watch - there aren't many places
where you can watch such a large piece of machinery in routine operation.

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russell
What an amazing device. I can't see any practical justification for it, but it
is a cool piece of art.

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RiderOfGiraffes
They had to connect two canals at very different heights, and they didn't want
to waste water by using locks. This is an incredibly practical way to do it.
It's energy efficient, water efficient, and a brilliant demonstration of
Archimedes principle.

And it's in the Geek Atlas. It's wonderful. Art, engineering and education.

Search for Falkirk and you'll find it's been mentioned here before.

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anamax
The Falkirk wheel is a lock. It "merely" has moveable chambers.

The only "demonstration of Archimedes principle" involved is that boats that
float in water float in water.

It is seriously cool though.

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ZeroGravitas
I think the archimedes link is that boats in the lock displace their own
weight in water, this means you can have two different weights of boat yet the
two chambers will still counterbalance exactly.

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anamax
That's what "float in water" means....

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daleharvey
nice, I noticed that on the train the other day, ive been meaning to go visit
it for a while since its only ~40 minutes from me, will make the time to soon.

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jgamman
been there - it is totally worth the trip. this is a great write up as well,
makes me want to print it out and go again (if i still lived in scotland...)

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vaksel
reminds me of that Pixar robots movie.

