Exile fulcrum puzzle (includes spoiler)

Been awhile since I played that, but there's hint in a book somewhere.

"Jumbo Jimmy" <jumbojimmy9998.RemoveThis@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:Xns96C4E3C5021D0jumbojimmy9998hotmai@127.0.0.1...
> The puzzle with the big gear and the balancing ball thing. I ended up
> looking up a walkthrough on the web because I couldn't figure it out. I'm
> just curious how I was supposed to know I needed twice the weight of the
> rolling ball in the counter-balance. I couldn't find any hint for it
> anywhere, and I'm bitter that I had to look it up and feel like an abject
> failure for the rest of my life. Any input?
 >> Stay informed about: Exile fulcrum puzzle (includes spoiler) 

"Jumbo Jimmy" <jumbojimmy9998.DeleteThis@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:Xns96C4E3C5021D0jumbojimmy9998hotmai@127.0.0.1...
> The puzzle with the big gear and the balancing ball thing. I
> ended up
> looking up a walkthrough on the web because I couldn't figure
> it out. I'm
> just curious how I was supposed to know I needed twice the
> weight of the
> rolling ball in the counter-balance. I couldn't find any hint
> for it
> anywhere, and I'm bitter that I had to look it up and feel
> like an abject
> failure for the rest of my life. Any input?

I don't have the thing installed anymore, but if I remember
correctly it's obvious from the geometry of the beam. One side
is twice as long as the other, isn't it?

Neil
 >> Stay informed about: Exile fulcrum puzzle (includes spoiler) 

Jumbo Jimmy wrote:
> The puzzle with the big gear and the balancing ball thing. I ended up
> looking up a walkthrough on the web because I couldn't figure it out. I'm
> just curious how I was supposed to know I needed twice the weight of the
> rolling ball in the counter-balance. I couldn't find any hint for it
> anywhere, and I'm bitter that I had to look it up and feel like an abject
> failure for the rest of my life. Any input?

What got me was that the beam looked as though the balance points were
at 25%, 50% and 75% of the beam length, giving leverages of 1:3, 1:1 and
3:1. I got very frustrated.

The book clue is that only one segment of the little ball has been
changed, and you can see it, so the composition of that ball is known.
That narrows down the options a lot.

Eventually, with the aid of a spreadsheet to calculate the options for
the large ball, it becomes obvious that you can't arrange a 1:1 or 3:1
configuration. Only 2:1 and 4:1 are possible...
 >> Stay informed about: Exile fulcrum puzzle (includes spoiler) 

Alan Dicey <alan DeleteThis @removethis.diceyhome.free-online.co.uk> wrote in
news:43179bce$0$17461$ed2e19e4@ptn-nntp-reader04.plus.net:

> Jumbo Jimmy wrote:
>> The puzzle with the big gear and the balancing ball thing. I ended
>> up looking up a walkthrough on the web because I couldn't figure it
>> out. I'm just curious how I was supposed to know I needed twice the
>> weight of the rolling ball in the counter-balance. I couldn't find
>> any hint for it anywhere, and I'm bitter that I had to look it up and
>> feel like an abject failure for the rest of my life. Any input?
>
> What got me was that the beam looked as though the balance points were
> at 25%, 50% and 75% of the beam length, giving leverages of 1:3, 1:1
> and 3:1. I got very frustrated.
>
> The book clue is that only one segment of the little ball has been
> changed, and you can see it, so the composition of that ball is known.
> That narrows down the options a lot.
>
> Eventually, with the aid of a spreadsheet to calculate the options for
> the large ball, it becomes obvious that you can't arrange a 1:1 or 3:1
> configuration. Only 2:1 and 4:1 are possible...

Thanks for the replies. Alan you deserve some sort of prize for the
work you did on it.

I looked up the answer in the hint book, and it sort of makes sense.
For those who were curious, there was a toy back on Jnanin with two
little dolls balanced against one little doll on an off-center balance.
This apparently was the hint that you should try balancing double the
weight.
 >> Stay informed about: Exile fulcrum puzzle (includes spoiler) 

Jumbo Jimmy on 01/09/2005 1:30 pm wrote:

> The puzzle with the big gear and the balancing ball thing. I ended up
> looking up a walkthrough on the web because I couldn't figure it out. I'm
> just curious how I was supposed to know I needed twice the weight of the
> rolling ball in the counter-balance. I couldn't find any hint for it
> anywhere, and I'm bitter that I had to look it up and feel like an abject
> failure for the rest of my life. Any input?

LOL. It's easier to accept life as an abject failure for the rest of your
life than to try to understand anything about Amateria etc. Great game
though I luv'd it. I didn't mind not being able to get the maths puzzles -
with the walkthroughs you still get to see the scenery and that's what it's
all about for us maths dumbies. :v)
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