Question 10/05
ROTATION REDUCTION
The picture above shows a part of a mechanical contraption exhibited
in the main gallery of the MIT museum.
The contraption begins with a motor (on the left) turning at 212 revolutions per minute.
It is connected to a sequence of N worm-gears, that can be seen
in the picture. Each worm-gear pair reduces the rotation speed by
a factor of 50. The axle of the last gear in the sequence is
embedded in a concrete
wall and cannot rotate! Assuming that each gear consists of an axle of
about 10 cm in length and 1 cm in diameter, find the smallest N
for which such an arrangement is possible.
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