Beyond A Simple Machine: A Comprehensive Report on the Design,

Construction, and Ingenuity of Our Rube Goldberg Contraption

Stephnie Perera Gunawardane

St. Patrick Catholic Secondary School

SPH3UE

Mr McCormack

January 16, 2024

Introduction into the Rube Goldberg

Born in 1883, Rube Goldberg initially pursued a degree in engineering but later

transitioned to a career in cartooning. In the early 20th century, he gained fame for his satirical

cartoons that depicted overly complex machines designed to accomplish straightforward tasks.

The contraptions were often humorous and featured an intricate series of interconnected

components, each triggering the next in a domino-like effect. The first Rube Goldberg

contraption that gained widespread recognition appeared in 1914 in a cartoon titled "Foolish

Questions." The contraption, which was designed to erase a chalkboard, involved a comical

sequence of events, such as a parrot pulling a cord to release a weight, a cigar lighting a fuse, and

a boot kicking a fan, eventually achieving the simple task of erasing a chalkboard. Goldberg's

cartoons rapidly became a popular feature in newspapers, and his contraptions were extremely

popular and sparked great interest with his readers. The complexity, absurdity, and humour of his

inventions resonated with people, and Rube Goldberg became a household name connected with

overly complicated machinery designed to perform mundane tasks. Rube Goldberg's influence

extended beyond the world of cartoons. His ideas and concepts found their way into various

forms of media, including films, animation, and literature. The concept of a Rube Goldberg

machine became a staple in comedy and entertainment, celebrated for its ingenious and

complicated solutions to simple problems.

The spirit of Rube Goldberg lives on decades later, as his influence is evident in

advertisements, music videos, and even in the development of technology and robotics.

Engineers and inventors often draw inspiration from Goldberg's whimsical approach to

problem-solving, creating machines that go beyond mere functionality to provide entertainment

and aesthetic pleasure. Our ISU for our Grade 11 AP Physics class is based solely on Rube
Goldberg's works, as we as a group were tasked with planning, designing, constructing, and

testing our very own Rube Goldberg Apparatus. Despite the hard work and persistence required

to successfully create a functioning, visually pleasant and scientifically-sound apparatus, the

three of us were able to experience the innovating engineering process required to complete such

a complex task! We all learnt a great amount of knowledge regarding the infamous Rube

Goldberg contraption, as well as the physics and engineering principles that exist within it.

Functionality of the Rube Goldberg Apparatus

Creating our Rube Goldberg apparatus was a journey filled with challenges,

perseverance, and in the end, success. The process was undeniably long and tiring, requiring a

significant investment of time and effort from the three of us, especially Clare and Inez who had

to physically build the Rube. However, the satisfaction of witnessing our carefully planned

contraption successfully perform its intended sequence of actions made it all worthwhile.

Assembling the Rube Goldberg machine was a delicate process, and frustrations

sometimes ran high, especially during the final testing phase, where the Rube was tested 13

times. The interconnected nature of the components meant that a small error in one section could

have a domino effect, impacting the entire chain reaction. This led to numerous setbacks,

requiring us to revisit and revise certain components repeatedly. In the end, however, we were

able to successfully run the Rube without any problems or setbacks arising.

Our Rube, which required at least 12 steps in order to be deemed ‘successful’, was

carefully crafted through drawing inspiration and energy transformations from our three original

Rude-mini plans. Our Rube showcased a diverse range of energy forms, incorporating chemical

energy, kinetic energy, mechanical energy, and gravitational potential energy at various stages.
These energy transformations were the backbone of our project, seamlessly connecting one step

to the next. The climax of our creation culminated in the conversion of these varied energy forms

into a single, cohesive outcome: the illumination of our astronaut and its helmet, achieved

through the final marble rolling down the bottom of our ramp and triggering the light switch,

resulting in a transformation of kinetic energy into electrical power. Along with this, were

various other steps and forms of energy transformation that existed within our Rube and played a

crucial role in its functionality. The very first step involved a chemical reaction between vinegar

and baking soda in a cup, where bubbles and foam are created, overflowing and hitting a marble

placed above the cup. Once the marble tips to the left, it starts moving and initiates a sequence

involving a spoon, dominoes and another marble, creating a chain reaction. After this, a magnetic

ball bearing triggered a gauss gun, possessing sufficient velocity to continue the process. The

steel marble traveled down steps and a screw, ultimately landing in a box of numerous marbles,

which imparts just enough weight to lower a hammer. This hammer, upon descent, activates a

launcher initially designed for toy cars, propelling a car made to look like a rocketship into

motion. The vehicle, equipped with a brush, pushes a ball of pistachios and pumpkin seeds into a

cup through a pulley system. As the cup falls down, it simultaneously raises a platform, releasing

a toy car down a ramp. This toy car triggers a series of falling dominoes, which, in turn, set in

motion another marble descending a staircase. The large steel marble starts rolling down and

activates another gauss gun, accelerating it towards the final step. This is the point where the

marble hits a switch, illuminating the astronaut's helmet!

My Individual Roles and Responsibilities within the Project

For such a large project assigned, communication and collaboration was key in order to

make this a successful execution. Because of the chemistry our group has, it was quite easy to

work together to discuss, plan, create and finalise our Rube apparatus. Inez, Clare, and I

collaborated harmoniously, undertaking the collective responsibility of orchestrating the planning

phase, conceptualising initial design components, and compiling our ideas to formulate a

comprehensive strategic plan revolving our roles, responsibilities, materials required, and the

Rube Goldberg product as a whole. During the initial planning phase, the three of us decided to

split up the roles and responsibilities of the project, in order to make the process and workload

much more manageable. Despite this, it was difficult to divide the workload evenly, yet, we tried

as much as possible to make the workload even and fair. Because I was unable to go to Inez’s

house and be physically present during the construction and building process of the Rube

apparatus, I took charge of designing the project's website, showcasing our Rube Goldberg

machine and the step-by-step process that occurred in order to create it, as well as providing a

platform to share information about the underlying physics principles incorporated into the

machine. My responsibilities included creating an intuitive user interface, organising content,

explanations and various forms of multimedia in a visually appealing manner, and incorporating

various other multimedia elements to enhance the overall user experience. The website served as

a comprehensive hub for our project, effectively communicating the scientific aspects while

engaging viewers with an aesthetically pleasing presentation.

To document our progress and findings, I created and wrote up digital logs, detailing each

stage of the project's development. These logs served as a valuable record of our process,

highlighting challenges faced, solutions implemented, and the evolution of our ideas into our
final product. Whenever possible, Inez and Clare would send me photos and videos of their

progress on the Rube every time they worked on it together, also giving me a summary of the

events, progress, and completion of steps that had occurred that day. Utilising this information

and visuals, I would transport this onto the website in a visually appealing form and

chronological order that any viewer would easily be able to understand and witness how the

product came together. By meticulously documenting our journey and advancement with our

ISU over the course of over two months…

As part of the multimedia aspect of our project, I also undertook the responsibility of

editing the video diary portion of the digital log. This involved compiling footage from various

stages of the Rube Goldberg machine's construction, capturing both successes and challenges.

There was not a great amount of footage and images to work with, but I used what I had to create

30 to 60 second videos for certain days where milestones were reached, again portraying in a

visual manner how the process unfolded. Through careful editing, I crafted a cohesive narrative

that not only showcased the physics principles at play but also conveyed the collaborative and

dynamic nature of our team. The video diary served as a visual representation of our creative

process, providing insight into the complexities of our project and offering an engaging way for

others to appreciate the intersection of physics and creativity within the Rube Golderg.

I also ensured to carefully integrate the space theme we initially decided upon prior to

building the Rube, creating a scientific display that not only reflected the scientific findings and

process of our physics project, but also engaged our audience with our captivating futuristic

cosmos universe and vintage pinball machine theme. For the video diaries, I approached the

documentation process with a structured framework inspired by the space theme once again.

Throughout designing the website and its layout, I embraced numerous visually appealing
aspects that related to the aesthetics of outer space, including various icons such as planets,

astronauts, stars and spaceships. The colour palette was carefully selected to mirror the cosmic

hues, including deep and vibrant blues, purples, reds, yellows and white colours. The use of

space-themed imagery, such as galaxies, stars, and astronauts, not only enhanced the visual

appeal, but again, also reinforced the underlying theme of exploration and discovery. Majority of

the aspects of the website I designed myself digitally, using Weebly and Canva as my main

applications in order to achieve the designs, animations and filters.