Sense of Equilibrium

Reaching the state of permanent equilibrium requires taking some measures aimed at moving the centre of gravity away from its 'original' place.

In the case of the bird adding extra weight to its wings moves the centre of gravity towards its beak, so that when it is balancing the centre of gravity is just below the fulcrum. Similarly as in the case of teddy bear the rope walker holding a curved stick with weights (spheres). The parrot and toucan are also swinging safely on the support rod after adding extra weight to their tails.

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In contrast to the parrot which is flat, the bird can serve illustration of yet another aspect of centre of gravity location. Its 'proper' positioning is two- (or rather three-) dimensional. Viewed from above, the wide spread wings of the bird and its tail are in the shape of a triangle with the centre of gravity in the fulcrum. Viewed from the side, the lowered tips of the wings make it possible to move the centre of gravity below the fulcrum.

When we set the toys in the oscillatory motion they move lazily, like the swinging head of the dog.

The simplicity of such kind of toys enables experimenting with the various centre of gravity locations, as for example in 'moon jigsaw', or 'kitchen' bird model.

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