elastegrity?
...the synthesis of energy and mass in matter.
audio tracks, click to play
Energy has no mass, matter has mass, we sythesis matter (structure) and energy (double helix) to make uStructures
- Stewart MacPherson, inventor of the uStructure.
"batteryHelix is our first project. It is a elastegrity structure, that has no ties. It is a lattice, with no mechanical fixings, it is simply pinned and free to move. The most significant attribute of batteryHelix is that it is an elastegrity structure that is stiff. Stiffness has always eluded these types of structure; consider tensegrity. With batteryHelix we have at last conquered how to make the overall structure stiff.
We start with a developable lattice and form it into a barrel-vault with the addition of separate pieces arranged in a helix. It is a battery because it stores potential energy (elastic strain energy) which generates a double helix, thereby forming the structure. Energy has no mass, matter has mass, we sythesis matter (structure) and energy (double helix) to make uStructure*.
batteryHelix is a lattice-shell barrel-vault uStructure, [designed by Stewart MacPherson]. The batteryHelix is an alternative method of construction, and is the first uStructure in the world to emerge from the innovative visions of building with elastegrity.
The technology of bow-making is as old as civilization itself. Trillions of photons (pure energy) bombard us every second. batteryHelix is a synergy between the strain energy of the bow and the repulsion pressures of quantum bonds (the Strong Force). It builds a structure that readily freezes potential energy in the same fashion as a battery. uStructure harness this energy from the essential characteristics of matter. The batteryHelix captures this elastegrity by bending wood. Any fibrous material with a sympathetic young’s modulus can in certain combinations emulate similar properties.
Cross-disciplinary co-operation is becoming much more widely accepted as a means to improving society for the better. We are proud to be able to claim we are the first to demonstrate this amazing new chapter in construction and are confident these are the beginnings of an entirely new and visionary approach to structural mechanics. Static Newtonian mechanics has a new companion in zero mass elastegrity and the world of engineering a whole new set of headaches..."
*uStructure is an elastegrity structure.
Stewart Macpherson 08/08/14
weaving with bamboo, the six-stick bamboo weave, hard to hold down but bursting with energy all the same..
if the owl looks surprised it's because she's never seen uStructures before...?
look no trusses or ties, just elastic strain energy - uStructure
the batteryHelix demonstrates beam action...
Single-point perspective view, this is how it would look to be inside a life-size version of the uStructure