To decide between using either a purely mechanical system where the audience get’s to interact with the installation or setting up an electronic system and let the audience become a button pusher is a decision I’ve to make before going into the construction of the prototype. With the only knowledge I have of the mechanical system coming from my secondary school physics lesson, I started my research where it’s the easiest to understand, Youtube.

MA (mechanical advantage) = Force Out (object) / Force In (for my project, it is the human energy)

This video gave a simple breakdown of how a pulley system works and the amount of effort it helps reduces. A simple set up but the concern with safety and how to make it easier for the audience to interact with the installation is an issue I’ve to deal with.

I’ll be looking to make my bubble frame out of either acrylic or thin wood, but the issue is that the frame has to be slightly weighted to prevent it from moving too much while suspended.

So, less force needed = more length of rope needed to be pulled.

Another issue to look at is the speed of the pulley system and the distance it would need to travel. Also on how the mechanism would lock at the top to prevent it from being lowered before it is required.