Stack poker chips in a staircase-like fashion

[Gokul43201]

2] Actually, I'm not sure this wouldn't work as a linear stack. Can anyone think of a reason why it wouldn't? The overhang would be less, but it should still work. It would just need to be taller.

The maximum overhang with a linear stack will be L, irrespective of the number of chips in the stack. Again, it follows directly from writing the coordinates for the CoM.

 

[DaveC426913]

The maximum overhang with a linear stack will be L, irrespective of the number of chips in the stack. Again, it follows directly from writing the coordinates for the CoM.

Right. Of course. The lower section must overbalance what's above it.

 

[DaveC426913]

I've done it with a stack of CDs. They're much flatter and more parallelized.

I managed to get L=~1.75 with about 21 CDs. That was about the limit for me. Believe it or not, CDs are not parallel enough. They have a tiny ridge around the core that messes everything up. You can see in the pic how the top ones are leaning markedly.

 

[Gokul43201]

I managed to get L=~1.75 with about 21 CDs. That was about the limit for me. Believe it or not, CDs are not parallel enough. They have a tiny ridge around the core that messes everything up. You can see in the pic how the top ones are leaning markedly.

Now I think about it, mine were leaning too, but I chalked that up to the low stiffness rather than nonparallelism (I didn't inspect very carefully, I guess - I was in a bit of a hurry). I'd imagined that if the CD stack were a contiguous structure with the stiffness of the CD-plastic, it would still droop some under the weight, but I think you're right - it's the little rigdes round the inside. I used an essentially vertical stack of something like 15-20 CDs before I made noticeable shifts.

 

[russ_watters]

CD's aren't quite flat, either - the center section has a raised rim around it. Cool pic, though, Dave.