Is That Floating in Air?: Tensegrity / Mr. Denjiro's Happy Energy!
DENJIRO: Take a look at this model here. It looks like the top part is floating. This structure is being held up by string. Strange, no? Let me explain how this works. The structure is being held by the tension of the string in the center. Let's think of a swing to make things easier. A swing is suspended from a support with rope. The center of gravity is below the fulcrum, so it is stable. With this model, the center of gravity is above the fulcrum. It will fall over as is. But if we put string on the corners, it will stabilize.
Let's observe this 2D model with a polarizing plate. There is tension only in the string in the middle. It looks colored through the polarizing plate. This structure is standing due to a property known as "tensegrity," which comes from the word "tension."
Look at me! I may look like I'm floating in air, but I'm actually being suspended by string. If you use string that can handle lots of tension, you can even lift up a person!
Using durable string, I've made a large tensegrity structure. Let's see if I can stand on it.
I was able to stand on it!
I hope energy will bring you all happiness. Our magic word is "Happy Energy!"