How can I build a yo-yo that will enable me to find a non-linear relationship?
The acceleration of gravity is already a non-linear relationship! And the way a yo-yo spools the cord, increasing the radius of the central shaft in a sometimes erratic way, makes it quite complex, but if you want to make the equation of motion a bit more interesting, but smooth ……. If you used a cord that could only just enter the space between the yo-yo ends, and could not end up on the spool anyway other than ‘single file’ – as a smooth spiral – its descent would follow a smooth non-linear relationship as the acceleration of gravity would power a gradually decreasing radial acceleration.
