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Rotary Motion 2; Another possible mechanism
Topic Started: Mar 22 2011, 01:01 AM (453 Views)
Spugpow
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A while ago I made a topic exploring an idea Colddigger and I had for large creatures that make use of rotary parts for locomotion: http://s1.zetaboards.com/Conceptual_Evolution/topic/3845641/1/ . This was a spin off of a lengthy debate on another thread: http://s1.zetaboards.com/Conceptual_Evolution/topic/3515268/3/ (in case anyone's interested). I think I've found another possible mechanism for a rotating part in a large animal.

Today I was playing around with a click pen and noticed that every time I pushed the button, a mechanism near the top of the pen rotated the ink reservoir slightly to the left. Puzzled by this, I did a quick search on the internet and came up with this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eE4vLrFpkxY Imagine the jagged edge wrapped around in a circle, and several pegs slotting into it instead of one.

Potentially, a creature on some other planet could use this mechanism to power a rotating limb; The rotating part would be made of dead secreted material, and would fit snugly into the alien's body. At the base of the limb would be a series of slanted pegs, and these would interface with the slotted surface of a piston-like rod to rotate the limb.

I'm not sure if I like this mechanism better than the one I proposed earlier. It's a little simpler, but it doesn't have any biological analogues. Tell me what you think and whether you're confused :P .

Edit: Oh, and seems like Holbenilord had a part in coming up with the idea as well.
Edited by Spugpow, Mar 22 2011, 04:42 PM.
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colddigger
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And the living part would twist?
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Holben
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Oh hey, my name.

So where would the muscles fit?
Time flows like a river. Which is to say, downhill. We can tell this because everything is going downhill rapidly. It would seem prudent to be somewhere else when we reach the sea.

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Spugpow
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Colddigger, I assume the non-living part would twist.

Holbenilord, I don't know where the muscles would fit, since all I know about is the mechanism, not the entire creature.
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colddigger
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I mean the living part twists back and forth to spin the nonliving part.
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Jasonguppy
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Wait, didn't he say that the living part would push one nonliving part turn spin another?
I do art sometimes.

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Projects:
Amammalia: A strange place where mammals didn't make it and the land is, once again, dominated by archosaurs.

Oceanus: An endless sea dotted with islands, reefs, and black holes. Literally endless, literal black holes.

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Spugpow!
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I can see that this is confusing. There isn't any twisting motion, just a piston-like up and down. If you have a transparent click-pen, you might want to take a look at the mechanism near the button.
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Jasonguppy
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Yeah i know what you mean. It kind of just moves up and down over the piece, so not really rotating, just shifting
I do art sometimes.

"if you want green eat a salad"

Projects:
Amammalia: A strange place where mammals didn't make it and the land is, once again, dominated by archosaurs.

Oceanus: An endless sea dotted with islands, reefs, and black holes. Literally endless, literal black holes.

❤️❤️~I'm not a boy~❤️❤️
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Spugpow
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Yes, but this up and down motion causes one of the parts to rotate.
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Jasonguppy
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Yeah
I do art sometimes.

"if you want green eat a salad"

Projects:
Amammalia: A strange place where mammals didn't make it and the land is, once again, dominated by archosaurs.

Oceanus: An endless sea dotted with islands, reefs, and black holes. Literally endless, literal black holes.

❤️❤️~I'm not a boy~❤️❤️
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