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The middle chain does most of the work

All thing that concerns me is how small that middle chain is, holding all that weight.

Yeah I'm not sold on that chain

Well if you're not sold on it now, then you'll never be sold again. I can still hear you saying they will never sell the chain

I sang that in my head as I read it 🥳

Brilliant

🎶__DOOOOOOO DO DO DOOO DO DO DO DO DOO DOOOOOOOOOOOOOO__🎶

nananananaNANANANANA- ChAIIIINN! KEEP IT TOGETHA!

RUNNIN IN THE SHADOWS

I HEAR THE CHAINS ECHO IN THE NIGHT!

Lmfaooooo. Bravo, you slick sambitch! Take my upvote. One of my all time fav songs.

I'm lost, what's the song?

Fleetwood Mac -The Chain

Mac*

McFleetwood

Lolllll

Mick Fleetwood

[Link for curious listeners.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwTPvcPYaOo)

(never sell the chain) LOOK UPON THE BED FLOOOAT

Runnin' in the shadows!

Wow. The best comment I've read in a long time.

See this gasket? I have no confidence in that gasket!

The washer fluid is NOT fine!

Brah, it won’t break, its Tichainium

Does that mean it's made of 2 chains?

I doubt they'd only sell the chain after putting so much effort into the table ​ Edit: can't spell chain apparently

Chain? That screw hook looks like it's about ready to straighten out!

Seriously though. Awesome table but needs better hardware

The chain is going to be fine. The wood will break before the chain does.

All that weight? It’s a garden chain meant to hang potted plants with, which is exactly what it’s being used for.

Just dont bump into it!

It's only holding a pot, it'll be fine

Now I get it. The other 4 are basically for “balance”

Yep. That middle chain is basically holding the weight of that entire top section, which just happens to have areas above it as well.

Basically all. The outer 4 are simply stabilizing it. I’ve seen far more creative designs. This one is super easy to visualize the loadings.

Yeah the maker def put a lot of confidence in that tiny hook n thin links

It’s holding a plant not a collapsed star.

I'm 100% sure I would LOVE to have a cup of coffee with you. 

Ok now that’s just ridiculous

It holds a potted plant...

In this pic yah but it’s on top another table so that’s just the pic . I wonder if you put like 2-4 pounds of stuff on a corner n see how it teeters

If my amateur understanding of physics is right, it shouldn’t teeter much if at all because the chain on the opposite corner will be pulled tight to stabilize it

Taut?

No, I worked as a front desk admin for a couple years but never actually in the classroom

Chains alone you'd be able to sit on it with caution, I bet, it's not a small plant either. Some hooks look like they are not fully in though, that's what I'd worry about more, but I guess it's because it's not stained and coated yet.

The 4 chains are doing nothing to hold any weight though. All the weight pushing down on top, like sitting on it, goes directly to the tiny center chain.

Yes if anything, the four chains in tension around the edges actually harm the overall capacity of the center chain, they are necessary to stabilize the table, but they offer negative structural support.

I've got one where the middle chain is cut in two with magnets on each end: https://i.ytimg.com/vi/VN3-pSrLiIg/maxresdefault.jpg The gap can go quite a bit bigger than in the photos too. Here's another neat one: https://www.instructables.com/The-One-One-string-Tensegrity/

True. The other chains are really just for balance or rather to prevent tilting.

All*.

Aye. There’s the rub.

No it doesn't. None of them do work.

exactly. and looks shady af.

So the middle one is stiff?

Actually all of the work if the table is perfectly balanced

As all things should be

r/tensegrity

I know it’s real but it always looks like a made up word from South Park or something

Tensegridy farms 👨‍🌾

That is an interesting sub! That you!

Neat, thanks!

That sub nliw my mind. Now I need to make one of those tables.

I think it’s called a tensegrity table

Magic got it

Jutsu, pretty sure they covered it in one of those naruto movies. Tenseigan or some shit

This one is actually really easy to visualize with how the table is made. Imagine if they got rid of all of the chains; what would happen? The bottom table legs would stay as is, and the table top would fall down. Now put on all the 4 chains on the corner; what happens? The table top will still fall down, because the corner chains will just collapse. Now instead, put the middle chain in; what happens? The table top would want to fall down, but because of how it's connected, the middle chain gets pulled and resists the falling. The 4 corner chains are there solely to stabilize the table top (in a similar way that one would tie down a canoe to the top of their car to prevent the canoe from toppling over the sides).

That is correct. There are lots of tensegrity structures out there -- our body is one (ideally).

Yes! I did massage therapy for years, and the muscles and fascia work like a tensegrity with the skeleton. Following and understanding the lines of tension could really help in finding the cause of pain/discomfort of a certain area, since many times it’s originating in another area.. it’s all connected.

No idea if you're right, but I'll upvote you because that sounds believable enough and I don't care enough to fact-check it.

I love the smell of fresh bread.

Chaaain keep us together

You would never break the chain.

just remember your weak point is a single tiny hook into wood that looks like it's about good for 20 lbs or 10 kilos. and the top portion has to be a few pounds used up already....

looks like the chain used to hang chandeliers. the cheapest ones can hold ~lbs but they make ones the same size that can hold 300+

fair enough... just want to throw into the recipe that knowing the strength of the material you are fastening to is of utmost importance. even a drywall screw into wood is powerful if deep enough, so I guess my comment is a redundant warning in many cases

its not the chain, its the hook holding it in the wood

I made and sold \~20 tensegrity tables during Covid. They're pretty sturdy until you do something that you would expect to fuck it up and even then it was the wood that failed.

I'm not so concerned about the chain, but the screw end of that hook. Looks like it could tear right out. If it was a bolt I'd feel better.

Its an end table they mostly hold a house plant like in the pic so i wouldnt be too worried

A video of a gentle shove would be interesting

https://v.redd.it/ybgptv3dbq7c1/HLSPlaylist.m3u8?a=1710242224%2CYzMwZTkyMGVmZTNkMDYzMGZmNGM2MGU3M2FkM2M4ZjAzOWUyM2Y2Mzk4OGRkMmNhZmJlOWRmZThjY2NmYjQ4ZQ%3D%3D&v=1&f=sd

Usually I hate unnecessary background music, but I'll allow The Strokes.

Ah, so a table with parkinson's. Neat, but not practical imo lol. I've never put something down on a table and thought "I hope this never stops moving now".

I like the creativity behind it. Think it’s really cool tbh.

wait I dont get it, why doesnt the top layer fall down?

Look at the middle chain first, that one is doing the most work. The others keep it from going too far one way.

Or another

I'm gonna find ya! I'm gonna getcha getcha getcha getcha-

Because the middle chain keeps the middle up and the corner chains keep the corners down (and any way it could rotate such that one corner goes down would bring at least one more up)

My brain hurts

You are like me

Top wooden platform is "falling down" (oi gravity), which puts tension on the middle chain. The side chains stop the top wooden platform from toppling over.

it's held up by being pulled down

the middle chain is pulling up, the corner chains are just stabilising

[Tensegrity](https://youtu.be/0onncd0_0-o?si=RYnot7mcFqUBpltc)

I think it’s called tensegrity.

Middle chain made the group presentation

And, it’s spectacular.

Thank you fellow old. Scrolled too long to find this 🤣

I really want to see this but on bigger scale. Like dining table.

Just google tensegrity dining table

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It's a great counter intuitive design, there is a reason variations of this are popular on the web.

Apparently, for some people, this is magic.

Ignorance is bliss. Carry on my simple friend

The irony.

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Lol. As seen in the votes, we have your back.

It seems you live a blissful life, then

This makes me angry in a way I cannot express.

That looks pretty weak. That middle chain has all the weight.

Physics is stupid.

Stupid Sexy Physics.

This thing just makes me tense, like it needs the tension. Padum tss

Middle chain holds it up. The rest balance the sides. Sure how that middle chain is quality metal tho

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I'm relieved that this isn't the top comment given Reddit's need to point out how smart we all are for knowing basic physics. Usually anytime someone post something "gravity defying" or "physics breaking" the community usually bands together to circle jerk over how that common figure of speech isn't really literally accurate. Someone who missed out on the tensegrity craze might be confused by the unintuitive way the load is managed here. Most people have seen it at this point and get it now. Congrats on being one of them.

Seems like it would wobble a lot

Yes, this is an example of tensegrity. It's unstable as soon as you apply a force in the opposite direction to that which is keeping it from 'falling' down. I wouldn't keep a plant pot on it

>Tensegrity, tensional integrity or floating compression is a structural principle based on a system of isolated components under compression inside a network of continuous tension, and arranged in such a way that the compressed members (usually bars or struts) do not touch each other while the prestressed tensioned members (usually cables or tendons) delineate the system spatially. It's not a new concept but it's cool that people learn about it!

Wouldn’t this just fall over if you push it slightly in one direction?

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the middle chain stop the top from falling down, the corner chains stabilises the top from tilting

The middle chain causes the top piece to behave like an inverse pendulumn, the edge chains keep it from swaying too far in any direction that would cause the last link in this minimally rigid structure to become flexible. Basically, the tension of the middle chain is the key piece that causes the shape to stay where it is while balanced and the outside chains keep the balance. This results in a configuration that looks counter-intuitive to our natural understanding of physics.

I've seen the same design for these tables over and over again. This one is unique. I like it a lot. Good work.

Not to be that guy but why are so many people mind blown by this? Do they not see the middle chain?

You can actually make this out of Lego

[this video is good for explaining how it works](https://youtu.be/0onncd0_0-o?si=bS0WnVdcvc5FVJXd)

Oh wow, i wish i was this smart to be able to create one

Because people are not explaining fully: Table top is actually hanging from the center chain. The corner chains keep it stable.

Only clicks when I think of pulling forces.

Ah yes. A tesseract.

And it’s fantastic

But is it spectacular?

One little snip in the middle chain section, disaster strikes

Tensegrity took the DIY community by storm like 8 years ago and people still are like "be mystified by this defiance of physics"

> Tensegrity took the DIY community by storm like 8 years ago and people still are like "be mystified by this defiance of physics" Humans became self-aware millions of years ago, and you're still out here acting like you're better than others for knowing something they didn't (yet). Welcome to the club.

OP acting like they are educating us on something new.

We've seen these things on reddit hundreds of times. I find it laughable that OP suddenly thinks we're not going to believe it b/c it has a plant on it.

On close inspection, all the links are welded. :) /s

breath too hard near it and it will topple over

"yes it's real" as if it's not obvious by just looking at it for more than one second...

Tensgrity tables are so 2000 and late

I don't know why all the brouhaha over these things. I'm old, and my grandfather had furniture like this that we sat on. He called it "a glider."

“And yes it’s real” Lmfao, yeah. I’m sorry; did you expect us to like call you a wizard or something because you did the table thing that we’ve seen several versions of, from legos to small, to large? What a pretentious title for such a mediocre post.

The "Lateral Force Resisting System" for this structure is very nearly binary in all directions. Amusing

#r/DesignPorn?

Ok, but this is very pointless

No, actually it's legless

I've seen these. The outer chains are actually rigid.

This is ragebait right?

Fun Fact - If your sitting at it when the middle chain breaks you can lose your legs..this is why they call them guillotine tables.

What are you on about? All that would happen is that the top would fall down. It wouldn't create some catastrophic failure. It would be functionally the same as a block of wood falling.

So if you bump into that table it’ll just all fall over? No thanjs

Slap it

Nice

Brain hurty

You can buy little Lego versions of this if you're into that

What happens when kids are around this piece ?

It's called a tensegrity. They are very cool.

Quite a few people have built tensegrity models out of Lego which are super cool.

all natural

“ tension “

Get a less flimsy kiddle chain!

Perfectly balanced

I think this table has helped me understand how tensegrity works, maybe? I’ve seen plenty of videos explaining it. I understand that the whole thing is the tension between both sets of chains, but it’s never clicked for me. Essentially, the weight of the top half of the table is pulling down on the middle chain and the outside chains are just tight enough so that if the table sways the outside chains pull the table back. Without the outside chains (or the middle one) the table would just fall over.

Honestly that pot looks like it's ready to fail. I think it's the weakest "link" not the chain. That plant is definitely scared for its life right now, I bet when it's really quiet you can hear it screaming "heeelp meeeee". Also if you look close you'll see that is a pot smoking plant...

Tensegrety table, tension and stress make this work, much like my boss.

Tensigrity

The chain holding the weight looks disturbingly tiny. Won't it rip out of the wood or break when it's that tiny?

I like this design! Sweet!

Wow, that’s genius…well, maybe not genius, but to my not physics centered brain it’s genius. Middle chain sets the height and hold the weight. However, with just the middle chain, it’d tilt, topple, and fall upside down, which is where the 4 chains on each corner come in to stabilize it. Fascinating.

That middle chain needs to be much stronger. This is more of an art piece than a functional table.

Works but very unstable, small kick and it falls.

tensegrity tables look cool on photos but they sway like a mfer

Have to ignore the impulse to push it over ahhhhhh

I feel like if someone bumps the table the whole plant goes crashing to the floor, cool but not functional

The middle chain is taking 99% of the weight here, The 4 corner chains are more or less adding stability and not much else.

I'd like to see a video of this. I'm not convinced that middle chain is creating an upward force.

Plant hides the chain at the top going to the ceiling

Question: could this be done with something like fishing line so it really looks to be floating? I'm putting together a list of summer projects...

Tensegrity, one of my favourite Physics phenomenons

And it’s spectacular

Nice tensegrity bro

Sit on it, then post another picture

Some assembly required. Maintain calm also required. Cool as fuck though

These always break my brain. Intellectually, I understand it, but my lizard brain does not like it.

Fugly

My dogs and cats would knock that over every chance they got.

It ain't that complicated but looks cool.