I am building a small rain gutter to alleviate a drip from my roof onto the ground by the house. I was on a ladder trying with some difficulty to measure the rise to run ratio of the roof. I thought, “if only I had an inclinometer.” But I do have an inclinometer. Several years ago I was in the Netherlands and, while there, I went to see and ride with Klaas Bil. Klaas awarded me with one of his clever home-built inclinometers for measuring road grades. I knew right where it was; on top of my west work bench leaning against the wall. I climbed down the ladder, grabbed the inclinometer, and quickly and easily measured a roof angle of 27.5 to 28 degrees wrt horizontal.
Ah yes, the inclinometer… to end all exaggeration on road or trail steepness :). For anyone not so lucky as to receive one as a present :), there are full guidelines on how to build your own on A simple inclinometer. For many people that would be easier than travelling to the Netherlands, hehe.
If one does not already have an iPhone, for about the same price one could go to the Netherlands and visit Klaas. And a really good long distance unicyclist like yourself could probably ride to the Netherlands.
My wife has an iPock or iLife or iSomethingOrOther and I asked her to pick up the free iHandy Level app at the iHaveAnAppForAnIronLung store and iThink she iHopped right on it.
Might be best if I plan my ride during the winter when the ice is thick enough to ride. I think I have a two for one coupon. Do you want to come alone?
In the timeless battle between water and stone, the defeated lies scattered in countless tiny pieces along the shore, upon which the victor dances an endless dance.
I was thinking exactly the same thing! (I watched Clash of the Titans last night)
BTW there’s a similar app for Android; I think mine’s called Bubble. For the Harper crowd, I think it’s called a piece of charcoal tied to a string or something…
Nice, Maestro…reminds me of a haiku I wrote ages ago:
Over thankless seas,
Clouds form, bringing rain to land.
Erosion; reward.
I would never think of buying or building an inclinometer when the acquisition of one presents such a legitimate opportunity to travel to the Netherlands and ride with Klaas again.
what i would have done would be to put various objects with known kinetic and static frictions on the ground and see at which value of friction the object accelerates. win
If my car tyres spin on hypothetical ice while there is no friction whatsoever between the two, my car would not accelerate. Any non-zero friction at the tyre/ice interface would make my car accelerate. Win-win.
Yes. And thank you.
In my pictured situation, if there is zero friction there is also zero F (force) to accelerate the car. More generally, if one assumes that the steer is straight, the magnitude of the F that accelerates the car is indeed the magnitude of the friction force for all tyre/ice interfaces combined. In that sense, F stands for friction.
