DETROIT-Zeal Credit Union’s Incredible Science Machine appears to have fallen short over the weekend for setting a Guinness World Record for the Largest Chain Reaction Machine ever built.
Team leader Steve Price, a Michigan State University student, indicated that while the machine did operate from start to finish, some individual sections failed, which likely means that there weren’t sufficient completed steps to set the world record. The Guinness World Records review has yet to be completed.
Zeal Credit Union sponsored the machine, which featured approximately a half-million objects, including about 200,000 dominoes and other components, including Hot Wheels tracks, ping pong balls, and blocks.
According to organizers, they were seeking to break the Guinness mark for a so-called Rube Goldberg machine that has 300 steps. Price says his machine had between 400 and 500, but the number likely fell below 200 after the failures meant backup sections had to run.
The machine required 17 builders almost two weeks to build and was activated on Saturday. The event was broadcast via the Internet. Had everything gone according to plan, it would have taken about 30 minutes for the entire chain reaction machine to complete.
Organizers said the effort wasn’t just about setting a world record. The builders said the project is also aimed at demonstrating actual science and having effect on STEM education in and around Detroit.
More about the machine, including a video, can be found at http://www.mi-sci.org.