Why do tightrope walkers use long poles

Circus High Wire How do tightrope walkers keep their balance? Imagine yourself 20 meters 66 feet above the ground on a platform, as thousands of faces watch and wait for you to style.

Welcome to the world of high wire. High wire's roots are as old as ancient Egypt and first century China, where the art of "rope dancing" was performed over knives. In the s, Jean Francois Gravelet received world acclaim for cooking and eating an omelette complete with stove and neatly set table on a high wire stretched over Niagara Falls.

Three different types of funambulism have evolved. Slack wire, where the rope or wire hangs a bit loose, is popular for juggling, clowning, and sword fights. Sloped wires are attached to the ground at one end and to a pole at the other, creating an angle of about 40 degrees. The most popular of all is the high-wire act, where a taut, springy wire is used to launch dizzying acrobatic tricks and phenomenal feats of balancing.

One way to view the high-wire act is to see the wire as an axis and the center of mass of the performer as having the potential to rotate about the axis. If the center of mass is not directly above the wire, gravity will cause the performer to begin to rotate about the wire. If this is not corrected, the performer will fall. The artist often carries a balancing pole that may be as long as 12 meters 39 feet and weighs up to 14 kilograms 31 pounds.

This pole increases the rotational inertia of the artist, which allows more time to move his or her center of mass back to the desired position directly over the wire. This effect can be magnified by making the pole as long as possible and by weighting its ends.

Without a safety net or harness Wallenda walked the gap between buildings on either side of the Chicago River before crossing between the two Marina City towers — blindfolded. His feat was televised, but with a ten second delay, in case he fell. Thankfully he didn't! You can see part of his walk in the movie on the right, but don't look if you're faint-hearted.

Like any tightrope walker, Wallenda carried a long pole to aid his balance. But why? When I rock climb and zip line, I have a harness and when I look over the edge of the cliff, my feet are grounded therefore, I feel safe. Walking a tightrope is something I would never consider because the element of security is absent. There are no safety nets, harnesses or any protective equipment.

It would just be me and the rope. Nonetheless, walking a tightrope is an impressive skill, one that takes years of practice, a lot of patience and courage and, most importantly, a good understanding of physics. No doubt, the entirety of walking a tightrope is centered around balance and the moment of inertia. This is the reason that tightrope walkers carry a very long pole.