The anti-twister or antitwister mechanism is a method of connecting a flexible link between two objects, one of which is rotating with respect to the other, in a way that prevents the link from becoming twisted. The link could be an

electrical cable Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter possessing an electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by Maxwel ...

or a flexible conduit. This mechanism is intended as an alternative to the usual method of supplying

electric power Electric power is the rate of transfer of electrical energy within a electric circuit, circuit. Its SI unit is the watt, the general unit of power (physics), power, defined as one joule per second. Standard prefixes apply to watts as with oth ...

to a rotating device, the use of

slip ring A slip ring is an electromechanical device that allows the transmission of Electric power, power and electrical Signal, signals from a stationary to a rotating structure. A slip ring can be used in any Electromechanics, electromechanical system ...

s. The slip rings are attached to one part of the machine, and a set of fine metal brushes are attached to the other part. The brushes are kept in sliding contact with the slip rings, providing an electrical path between the two parts while allowing the parts to rotate about each other. However, this presents problems with smaller devices. Whereas with large devices minor fluctuations in the power provided through the brush mechanism are inconsequential, in the case of tiny electronic components, the brushing introduces unacceptable levels of

noise Noise is sound, chiefly unwanted, unintentional, or harmful sound considered unpleasant, loud, or disruptive to mental or hearing faculties. From a physics standpoint, there is no distinction between noise and desired sound, as both are vibrat ...

in the stream of power supplied. Therefore, a smoother means of power delivery is needed. A device designed and patented in 1971 by Dale A. Adams and reported in ''The Amateur Scientist'' in December 1975, solves this problem with a rotating disk above a base from which a cable extends up, over, and onto the top of the disk. As the disk rotates the plane of this cable is rotated at exactly half the rate of the disk so the cable experiences no net twisting. What makes the device possible is the peculiar connectivity of the space of 3D rotations, as discovered by P. A. M. Dirac and illustrated in his

Plate trick In mathematics and physics, the plate trick, also known as Dirac's string trick (after Paul Dirac, who introduced and popularized it), the belt trick, or the Balinese cup trick (it appears in the Balinese candle dance), is any of several demonstr ...

(also known as the string trick or belt trick). Its covering Spin(3) group can be represented by unit

quaternion In mathematics, the quaternion number system extends the complex numbers. Quaternions were first described by the Irish mathematician William Rowan Hamilton in 1843 and applied to mechanics in three-dimensional space. The algebra of quater ...

s, also known as

versor In mathematics, a versor is a quaternion of Quaternion#Norm, norm one, also known as a unit quaternion. Each versor has the form :u = \exp(a\mathbf) = \cos a + \mathbf \sin a, \quad \mathbf^2 = -1, \quad a \in ,\pi where the r2 = −1 conditi ...

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An anti-twist mechanism made with LEGO
Electrical generators Mechanisms (engineering) Spinors

See also

References

External links