Buffalo to Springfield

Kinetic Sculpture 

Sculpture: Stainless Steel with a Basalt Stone

24.5"h x 5.9"d x 7.4"w 

Base: Granite 

9.5" x 15.6"

A rocker made from a cylindrical segment, supports a pendulum. The pendulum is a rod with a fixed stone weight at one end and a fixed stainless counterweight at the other. There is a counterweight on the rocker’s mast that can be moved to change the rockers frequency. As the rocker and pendulum move, the energy of these elements cycles between kinetic and potential forms and is transferred between the pendulum and rocker. Since their periods of motion are not equal, there is an interesting pattern of motion as one catches up to, then passes the other. Changing the counterweight’s position changes the rockers frequency, and thus changes the pattern of motion of the sculpture. The rod that the weight slides on is marked with small notches. Positioning the weight so its convex surface aligns with these notches results in approximate frequency ratios 2 to 1, 3 to 2, 4 to 3, 5 to 4 and one-to-one. (Rocker: pendulum from the top of the rod down.) Experimenting with weight placement at or near these marks will yield interesting motion patterns.