Coral castle
Coral Castle should be a straightforward story of an enterprising man using simple technology to build a collection of big stone structures out of coral block.
Instead it illustrates only too well that many people revert immediately to 'magical' thinking to explain anything they do not understand.
Because they do not understand the lifting technology available in the first half of the 2oth century, they assume that it could not have been done using known technology, and therefore must have been done using some secret knowledge that contradicts every physical observation of the world around them.
Simple block and tackle has been used for centuries to lift heavy weights, but above a mechanical advantage of 8:1 the friction in the pulley blocks prevents any increase in mechanical efficiency.
The chain hoist overcomes this limitation by using a larger pulley pulled by a hand chain to turn a small pulley that operates the block and tackle of the heavier lifting chain.
The hand chain can be dispensed with and the power provided by other mechanical means.
Three poles, fixed at the top, hold the chain gear and transmit the forces straight through the poles to the ground.
A chain hoist powered by an electric motor can be run from a generator. In the 20s and 30s generators were often directly driven by an old vehicle engine and could provide more than enough power.
There should be no doubt that this was how the structures were lifted into place because we have pictures from the Coral castle site of Ed at work lifting heavy stone.
Compare the size of the top pulleys with Ed's head. These are larger, and not the same as Anthony's photographs. In Ed at work he is definitely using a hand operated chain hoist. Note the small size hand chain and the much heavier lifting chain. Note how the extra smaller hand chain hangs in unattached loops, ready to be pulled through the driving sprocket wheel.
Notice that he is also using a smaller block and tackle, right at the top of the shear legs, to lift the chain hoist into place.
In this second picture - Ed lifting coral - Note again from comparing the size of Ed's head, that he this time using much more substantial shear legs with cross bracing.Note well that the lifting chains are all tight as they lift the load, but also note that there is no hand chain!
Again right at the top we have a hoist for lifting the main gear into place - it is also substantial in size - compare again with Ed's head. This is not the same gear as in the previous photo, so Ed is using a variety of types of lifting gear.
This is what he is using in the second picture:
A motorized heavy duty hoist!
Sensible man!
A modern version of the same.
It is also easy to lift and move heavy blocks sideways by joining two groups of shearlegs with further thick pole to take the thrust between the two. Using the two lifting chain hoists it is easy to move a block and place it with precision.
The animated gif that shows this:
At the Coral Castle today various block and tackle hang on the wall, but these are not the chain hoists that Ed used in the photographs. Merely decoration for the tourists.
This pulley is a simple block and tackle, but it is not set up correctly for use. One of the vertical chains should be attached to the hub of the lower pulley, assuming this is a single pulley, or taken back to the top if the lower is a double pulley. If the first this has a mechanical advantage of 3 to 1.
Pulley 2 could be part of a chain hoist, but again it is not set up correctly either as a block and tackle or a chain hoist- it just has chains draped over it. You can estimate the size from the coil of barbed wire behind it - barbs are usually about 1/2 inch long max.
It is a pity when the same 'magical' thinking is applied to explain ancient history, because it obscures the evidence that is pointing to a much more ancient and technological origin for civilisation. No magic is required, no antigravity machines. Just the simple application of the laws of physics.
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| Posted by Paul Hai (message id=3269 )
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Hello Peter,
good to see that commonsense still prevails in parts of the world. My own work about lifting blocks of stone is in a book called Raising Stone 1 - Paul Hai's Racks & Pinions Theory.
You may be interested in this work.
Cheers for now,
Paul Hai
www.haitheory.com
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| Posted by Jeff Plamenig (message id=3471 )
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See!
No mysticism, no gravitational experiments, or telekinesis just simple science and a lot of hard work. Makes perfect sense to me. Sure goes a long way to explaining how ancient people were able to construct even larger stone monuments. Alien assistance my ass
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| Posted by Paul Hai (message id=3482 )
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Ed told people that he knew how ancient Egyptians built their Pyramids, but Ed kept this knowledge to himself because he never told anyone. My approach is to tell people about my discovery of the ancient Egyptian pinion-pulley which walked its load up (or down) Pyramid steps ... consider the three-wheeled step trolley as an analogy ... only steps are required (no ramps). The Pyramids at Giza were all stepped, until the final cladding was finally added. The ancient Egyptian pinion-pulley has a mechanical advantage of 2.8 also, which is very efficient. This pulley was lost to the modern world until 2006. There are about one hundred of its components existing via excavations in Egypt. This pulley "surrounds" its load with four wooden lobed components which also form a complete rope drum. If Ed did know of this, it would have been to his great advantage. I have donated a copy of "RAISING STONE 1: Paul Hai's Racks & Pinions Theory" to the HOMESTEAD PUBLIC LIBRARY, ... Ed's part of Florida.
Best Regards,
Paul Hai (mechanical fitter, Queensland, Australia)
www.haitheory.com
haitheory -at- gmail.com
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| Posted by Alan Wilson (message id=3483 )
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The tops of the lifting towers must have been visible quite a distance from the Castle. It would be feasible for someone to be able to observe the upper parts of towers without been seen by Ed. I would be interested to know if there are any such witness accounts
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| Posted by Reed (message id=3690 )
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So his pulley system had a 3 to 1 mechanical advantage. Let's assume that humongous rock in the picture only weighs 3000 pounds. Ed would have to to weigh 1000 pounds to lift that block, but he only weighed 100 pounds. I think you guys need to head back to the drawing board
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| Posted by Peter (message id=3691 )
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Chain hoists are available with mechanical advantage up to 250 and able to lift 40 tons.
The one in the picture is huge as chain hoists go - so probably 40 tons lift
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| Posted by Will (message id=3774 )
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Instead of dragging the blocks on the ground from thhe quarry to the site, would it have made more sense for the acncient builders to alternate moving the block and moving the shear legs? Or perhaps a series of shear legs in a row. How about just walking one set of shear legs once it is loaded? Would it be possible to shift the weight of the block towoards one leg, then rotate the tripod forwards, place the forward leg down, then repeat. If there were men handling guidlines off the top of the tripod perhaps it could be managed. I could be mistaken but I think I heard that the legend of the building of stonehenge is that the huge blocks were "walked" accross the countryside. Or perhaps I am confusing stonehendge with Easter Island
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| Posted by Luca M (message id=3792 )
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In the second picture there's a box on the top. What's that
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| Posted by digitaldavinci (message id=3919 )
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I think were all too quick to want a solid answer but there are some obvious problem with the hoist story.
If the stones were so heavy Ed needed a lift to move them, how did he get the chain around the stone in the first place in a manner capable of lifting them? in the lower photo, a strap or chain runs around the whole stone so it can be lifted. How did he get this done if he needed a hoist to lift the blocks which doesnt even move them to the side. Seems like the hoist solution needs an equally complex solution just to get it hooked up.
Also why would he go to all the effort to move the whole castle many miles away because of what he claimed to be an 'energy' / location problem?
Also he wrote a journal called Magnetic Current which explains some easy to preform prove it for yourself magnetic experiments anyone can do. His work in this overturns the conventional understanding of magnetics as we know it. I highly recommend locating a copy and checking it out. Im struck by how often 'science' is resisting change to its 'laws' when its supposed to be a tool of discovery and greater understanding in a world where a major constant is change. resistance to change in an institution or organism generally represents an act of preservation or survival of sorts. Who can benefit from a science so rigid that it makes itself obsolete? Who is willing to check out the not so easy to believe solutions?
In the very least, Ed proves to us that unbelievable things can be done by anyone who puts their heart into it
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| Posted by (message id=4123 )
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generally a pry bar is used with a stump as fulcrum
the stone is lifted and a stave inserted crating space for a strap
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| Posted by John Rogers (message id=4182 )
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Hello Peter:
An Army Core of Engineers office who visited the Coral Castle site after Ed's death wanted to know how Ed was able to carve underneath the huge stones before lifting them out of the hole they were carved from? This engineer stated that this feat would be impossible for one man working alone considering that Ed would need to be underneath the stone to carve it out. Neat trick. Maybe you know how Ed did this Peter?
Thanx
John Rogers
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| Posted by Matt Polston (message id=4384 )
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I'm wondering with this 100lb 5' man. how did he even get the tripod up? and move it around? I think he did figure something out with his magnetic motor. sometimes I wonder how he got the stones out, how he got the stone roof on his house when "seen in the picture" the tripod ain't tall enough to lift it on there. then I think how did he even get his tripod up..........something to think about.
Matt in Missouri
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| Posted by Matt Polston (message id=4385 )
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search for pictures on coral castle find the one where the tripod is set up near his house. notice how his tripod is barely taller than his house. how did he get the roof on his house?
How did he move his tripod around? he always worked alone from what we know.
Matt in Missouri
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| Posted by Cris Bookout (message id=4640 )
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Curious if anyone out there might know the answer to timing of coral castle and the writing of magnetic current.
Is it possible after finishing his castle in 1928 and moving it in 1938, that he had to find something else to work on and this is when he started working on magnetism? Magnetic current was copyrighted in 1945. Did he transfer his time and energy from building his castle to experimenting with magnetism?
Is there any evidence that he claimed to have moved anything with magnetism? He stated, as far as I can tell, to have discovered the ancient, PRIMITIVE ways of building and moving heavy, large objects.
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