Prompt Cast
The Mechanics and History of Yo-Yos
TLDR Yo-yos originated in the Philippines in the 1920s and have a long history in various cultures. The modern yo-yo design allows for spinning on an axle, increasing in speed as it falls, and has gyroscopic stability.
Timestamped Summary
00:00
This episode is about how Yo-Yos work.
03:53
Yo-Yos originated in the Philippines in the 1920s, but there were similar toys in ancient China and Greece, and it was also popular in Europe with different names before it became known as a Yo-Yo.
07:55
The modern yo-yo design originated in the Philippines and the key distinction is that the string is loosely looped around the axle, allowing the yo-yo to spin once it reaches the end of the string.
11:38
The modern yo-yo design has both linear momentum and angular momentum, allowing it to spin on an axle and increase in speed as it falls, and it also has gyroscopic stability, which means it will resist changes to its axis of rotation.
15:29
Increasing the mass and distributing it further away from the axis of rotation increases a spinning yo-yo's resistance to changes in rotation, allowing it to sleep for longer periods of time.
19:20
Adding mass to the outside of a yo-yo and extending the axle increases its moment of inertia and allows it to sleep for longer periods of time, which was a breakthrough in yo-yo design.
23:15
The spindle is not attached to the axle, but the clutch arms are attached to the spindle, so when you throw the yo-yo down, it spins slower at first until the clutch engages and releases the spindle, allowing the yo-yo to spin faster on its axis.
27:17
In microgravity, a yo-yo will still spin slowly if thrown, but it will not sleep or spin on its axis.
31:18
There is a charity album called "More Hope for Japan" that was created to raise funds for the continued fallout from the Japanese earthquake and nuclear disaster.
Categories:
Society & Culture
