coral-castle fact-or-fiction
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Coral Castle
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 20th 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.
... Click this link to see larger image
Ancient History. Fact or Fiction?
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.
