Comments on: It's Slinky, it's Slinky, it's fun for a girl and a boy.

Question: It's Slinky, it's Slinky, it's fun for a girl and a boy.

Blazecock Pileon — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 13:21:03 -0800

How fast would a typical escalator need to operate, in order to keep a standard metal Slinky moving indefinitely (i.e., in place)?

By: JonnyRotten

JonnyRotten — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 13:50:16 -0800

According to this page, the walking speed of a slinky is dependent on the slope of the incline that its going down. So that is one variable that needs to be defined. I would also guess that since they are using a sloped plane, that those numbers will be a little off from stairs or escalator.

By: JonnyRotten

JonnyRotten — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 13:53:10 -0800

Here is a little more info that would seem relevant at first glance.

By: ND¢

ND¢ — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 14:14:30 -0800

I don't think it would work, no matter what the speed. See here, about 35 seconds in.

By: R. Mutt

R. Mutt — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 15:35:02 -0800

Having tried this years ago - though I only got two tries before deciding it was best to make a getaway - I think the escalator treads are too wide.

Though maybe it would work in Wyoming.

By: fantabulous timewaster

fantabulous timewaster — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 07:30:57 -0800

A Slinky might go for longer on any old escalator than on a stationary staircase with the same step width. But I would expect the step-to-step "classic" Slinky motion to be unstable: you can see in ND¢'s video (if not in your head) that rolling down the steps like a tube is more stable, and that having both ends on the same plane is stabler still. Without some feedback, a Slinky falling end-to-end --- even on a moving staircase --- will eventually transition to one of these other modes. Transitions back seem quite unlikely.