What they don't say in the article is that the canals allow a really nice bike trip across Scotland (Edinburgh-Glasgow). Just get on a morning train and cycle back. There is no way you'll miss the Falkirk Wheel.
That is amazing. It isn't often you find such a good marriage of form and function. Am I right in thinking that this would be more efficient than conventional locks? They don't have to actually pump any water in this design, and the boat is essentially counterbalanced by the cantilever design so the rotational force needed to turn the wheel would be minimal.
You don't have to pump any water in conventional locks - you rely on having a source of water (lake) higher than the top lock.
The wheel is quicker than a series of locks (not important for leisure use) more expensive to build but it's probably cheaper to maintain than 20 locks.
The wheel still uses energy from the water source to lift the craft. The real advantage is it takes far less water while looking cool. It’s also tall for a lock.
I think the most efficient system to build and use would be a "bucket" and pulley’s attacked to a counter weight. Granted it would have far less summitry and not look as cool. The main advantage to locks is they scale really well but they use more water.
PS: I can't help but wonder how they counterbalance the buoyancy when one end dips into the water. Those curved tips might help and I can world out the geometry in my head but I think they just brute force it.
I never thought I'd see a link about Falkirk on HN. I live just up the road from the Wheel :) It's pretty incredible to watch - there aren't many places where you can watch such a large piece of machinery in routine operation.
They had to connect two canals at very different heights, and they didn't want to waste water by using locks. This is an incredibly practical way to do it. It's energy efficient, water efficient, and a brilliant demonstration of Archimedes principle.
And it's in the Geek Atlas. It's wonderful. Art, engineering and education.
Search for Falkirk and you'll find it's been mentioned here before.
I think the archimedes link is that boats in the lock displace their own weight in water, this means you can have two different weights of boat yet the two chambers will still counterbalance exactly.
I feel that you either have missed the point, or you're not explaining yourself clearly. Dismissing Archimedes' principle simply as "boats that float in water float in water" seems rather ingenuous.
Archimedes' principle says that the weight of water displaced by a floating object equals the weight of the object. The Falkirk wheel exploits this in a design-critical fashion. The chambers are full to the brim of water. When a boat enters the chamber, some of that water is displaced.
What's critical, though, is no matter how many boats are in a chamber, including none, the chamber still weighs the same. Hence the wheel remains balanced no matter how many boats are in it.
For those who don't know Archimedes' principle, and I've found even for many who think they do, this comes as a surprise.
"Why," they ask, "are the chambers still balanced?"
Perhaps you just think this is all obvious, in which case I concede your exceptional perception. And in my experience, exceptional it is.
Why the Falkirk Wheel remains balanced under apparently different loads is not obvious to most.
nice, I noticed that on the train the other day, ive been meaning to go visit it for a while since its only ~40 minutes from me, will make the time to soon.
been there - it is totally worth the trip. this is a great write up as well, makes me want to print it out and go again (if i still lived in scotland...)
