Re: a practical physics problem with pulleys

[Leigh Palmer <palmer@SFU.CA>]

> Would the vinyl blinds used in homes have a rope system equivalent
> to what you want to do?

That system would do the trick, but it is inelegant because two ropes
would come down. I do have a scheme which would give me one rope and
a mechanical advantage approaching four. It relies on an instability*
that I know exists, but I won't know if it actually works until I try
it out at full scale. I was just hoping that someone here had solved
the problem already.

Leigh

*A similar instability is exploited when one finds the center of mass
of a meter stick by balancing it on two fingers and then sliding them
together, a well known demonstration.