ISRAEL: Israeli giant yo-yo competition creates a bounce in Haifa

Record ID: 397051

  • Title: ISRAEL: Israeli giant yo-yo competition creates a bounce in Haifa
  • Date: 17th June 2011
  • Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (Hebrew) EYAL COHEN, WINNER OF YO-YO COMPETITION, SAYING: "This yo-yo is the most efficient one, I checked up its efficiency with different weights, types of rope and I guess this is what caused it to win. It has a very high moment of inertia, for those of you who understand. These weights add much to its inertia. Actually, it gets down and then comes back up i
  • Embargoed: 2nd July 2011 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Israel, Israel
  • Country: Israel
  • Topics: Quirky,Light / Amusing / Unusual / Quirky
  • Reuters ID: LVA3ZFFA9E8AXOY84H9TECHSZVMR
  • Story Text: Students from the Israeli Technion Institute of Technology in northern Israeli dropped their lab coats, computers and books on Wednesday (June 15) to participate in a giant yo-yo competition.
    The bouncy event, which is not an official part of the institution's curriculum, allowed students to test their knowledge and creativity by designing and building the large yo-yos. The competition looked for the yo-yo that would reach the highest point after being released from a 100-foot (30 meters) tall crane.
    All yo-yos in the competition were tied to a 65-foot (20 meter) rope, students were strictly forbidden from using any external source of energy aiding the yo-yo's ascent after it was dropped from the specially altered crane.
    "Students see a big challenge in a free competition... to meet the rules of a special competition every year. This year its a yo-yo which is dropped from about 30 meters high and has to jump to the highest point that it can after getting to the bottom. The idea with the yo-yo is to convert the potential energy to angular momentum of the yo-yo," explained Professor Alon Gani, Aerospace Engineer Professor in the Technion Institute.
    The winner of the competition, Eyal Cohen, designed and built a small and sleek yo-yo, resembling an automobile's flywheel. The engraved yo-yo scored highest marks after the judges calculated the height of its initial ascent, as well as the number of times it bounced over 16 feet (5 meters).
    "This yo-yo is the most efficient one, I checked up its efficiency with different weights, types of rope and I guess this is what caused it to win. It has a very high moment of inertia, for those of you who understand. These weights add much to its inertia. Actually, it gets down and then comes back up in full force, up to the top. It seemed like it bounced back about 90% (of the 100-foot it was released from), its a very very efficient machine, using the energy very well," Cohen told reporters after being crowned winner of the competition.
    Eyal Cohen and his winning team received 3,000 U.S. dollars for winning the competition.
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