Trying for a snappy example, it seems I have over-simplified this particular application --- for a start, it would help if I could track down the paper cited! More work needed. WFL On 12/20/10, Adam P. Goucher <apgoucher@gmx.com> wrote:
Fred Lunnon wrote:
There's little light to be cast by screw theory here. Exactly the same analysis applies as to bicycle spokes --- or rather cartwheel spokes, since fingers
act as struts (in compression) rather than ties (in tension). Picking up a slippery sphere requires (at least) 7 fingers. WFL
What? Wouldn't four fingers, positioned at the vertices of a regular tetrahedron, suffice to hold a sphere in position? Or three, if you allow gravity to assist.
Sincerely,
Adam P. Goucher
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