June 27, 2008: Very Big Ball

[BigV]

Why make it in the shape of a sphere?

A sphere is the shape that has the highest volume to surface area ratio, but I don't see any compelling reason to have to conserve surface area for this counterweight. It seems like it would be a wasteful use of space compared to, say, a cylinder, perhaps a cylinder with a hemispherical lower end. Since the whole weight will swing in an arc described by the radius of the cable and ball, it would seem that there would be empty space in the swing path that could otherwise have been used to add mass, had they departed from their (nearly) spherical choice.

Perhaps there were aesthetic reasons for the shape I don't understand.