Balancing Rocks

[K9]

http://www.rock-on-rock-on.com/index.html

I find the aesthetics of this very pleasing, and the transient nature of what he creates seems to add to the beauty of it. This is the kind of art that I can appreciate.

[Signe]

That's cool.  I suck at balancing stuff, even myself.  I also admire people who can avoid walking in to walls and who don't sink in stuff.

[Hoax]

I've seen this IRL a few times, it is pretty cool, never seen him actually setting them up though, the fun part is you get to go down and try to add some more and there's usually some people who have figured it out and are working on their own.

[Samwise]

Rock balancing is easier than it looks.  Which is still fairly hard, and I have huge respect for the "professionals" that can do the really fancy arrangements (although most of them "cheat" a bit by reusing the same rocks for each "show").  But if you find a good pile of rocks and spend an hour or two at it you'll be surprised what you can do.

Here are the only ones I've done that I had the presence of mind to take pictures of.  Not nearly as cool as the pros, but good enough to impress the average passerby.

[K9]

Well colour me impressed, is there some secret or trick to it that makes it simpler?

[Samwise]

I'm serious when I say just find a pile of rocks and play with 'em.  Pick up a rock, put it on another rock with a pointyish end down, and wiggle it around until it doesn't feel like it wants to tip over.  If you can't find that spot after fifteen minutes of wiggling, pick a less pointy end or a less pointy rock.  Repeat until bored or satisfied.

[OcellotJenkins]

But the guy in the original link appears to be using ROUND rocks.  Color me impressed as well.

[Samwise]

The surface quality is more important than the shape.  Getting two roundish rocks to balance at a funny-looking angle is pretty easy as long as they're both rough on the surface, since they'll grind into each other and provide enough friction to keep the top rock from slipping down the side of the other (while the normal force prevents it from tipping over).  It's actually easier in some ways than stacking rocks directly on top of each other because you usually get a bit more contact area (which means easier balancing), while maintaining the appearance of a precarious arrangement.

The tough part is adding additional rocks on top of that sort of setup.

[Sky]

I want to do some of that next time I go out to Monhegan. There's a rocky beach where hikers stack rocks, but none done like that. And I'm a stacking god (years of loading gear and then a job loading trucks).

[SurfD]

I wonder, how well do those stacks handle wind?

[Samwise]

The bigger the rock, the better it stands up to wind.  (Drag is roughly a function of surface area, friction is roughly a function of volume, so the bigger the rock the more wind needed to overcome the static friction that holds it in place.)

[Fabricated]

I wonder, how well do those stacks handle wind?

I bet decently well. This is about having steady hands and being able to find the right center of gravity for the rocks. You can do some really wacky shit stacking just about anything if you center it right (like the sideshow bits where people balance washing machines on their chins).