The Scene of the Crime - Rube Goldberg Illinois

How many murders does it take to screw in a light bulb? This is the first machine built by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Rube Goldberg Society. Works every time. Task: to change a light bulb in 20 steps or more.

http://rube.ec.illinois.edu/

another video, showing it from a step back: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_8cjOl3Eyk

and here's a video of the machine being explained at the national competition: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wyyDxbFO-wE

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• University of Illinois
• Rube Goldberg Machine
• light bulb changer
• clue
• scene of the crime
• Mr Body
• Professor Plum
• Colonel Mustard
• Mrs White
• Mr Green
• Miss Scarlet
• Jimmy Kryger
• uiuc
• national
• competition
• 2009
• purdue
• ok
• go
• awayday
• murder
• mystery
• board
• game
• intrigue

[sandsofheaven]

very, very, cool. Is it possible to design something that intricate and creative without a lot of iterations?

[prodigyfire56]

I'm not entirely sure what you mean. There was definitely a lot of trial and error involved in making the thing...

[sandsofheaven]

I would be interested in watching a video with interviews of the design team. I didn't really believe it was a first attempt. I've worked on HVAC designs before and there are always iterations.

[prodigyfire56]

Oh I see. Several of the students involved had in fact made Rube Goldberg machines in the past, in high school. This was simply the first machine that was built by a team from the University of Illinois. Work was started in November 2008, finished in early February 2009.

[knowlton415]

I love U of I. There is a club for everything.

[evangelprime]

Genius!

[strizeap]

Is that Adam Gorb's "Awayday" playing throughout most of the video? Oh yeah - awesome job!

[cqscamper]

What was the murder weapon? You have to have a murder weapon.

[whizzball1]

well, I wasn't there to see it happen but I can make an almost perfect hypothesis of what really happened. Now, I went to the website and I saw that it did win 2nd place. It did work perfectley on every try.

[cellodude321]

i mean i get every thing that happened i just dont think it happened all together like how you see on the video. i think some of the parts didnt work so it looked like he got a different angle but what he really did was set up the part again to make it look like it worked on its first time

[whizzball1]

well, when the light bulb was completely screwed out, it triggered a electric switch that moved the wood. When the wood moved to the right, it triggered yet another electric switch, therefore screwing in the light bulb. When the lightbulb was completely screwed in, there was no more blocking for the electricity. It then traveled to the train, triggered it, and then the train moved and hit the light swich.

[cellodude321]

what do you mean by that

[whizzball1]

@cellodude321 electricity

[Chopsquad160]

Where is "The Scene of the Crime ''??

[cellodude321]

ok for example at the end with the light bulbs how did it trigger the train and if it was going the whole time it would of hit the light switch early

[Garth5689]

you're wrong. try again.