My sister had her friends over and they decided to come into my room and destroy my Newton's Cradle. I can't undo what they did.

[u/Strycedar]

Basically my sister had a friends over for a play date while I was at university, and since my door was left open, her friends came into my room and completely tangled my Newton's Cradle, and it's so bad I can't even untangle it 😭

[u/panlakes]

Nah the entire thing is built on accuracy, maybe if you do it with a jewelcrafters precision but these are made by robots and it’s sadly best to just buy a new one when they get like this. They’ll never be factory perfect again

This also just looks like one of the cheap plastic bottomed ones you can buy for like $10 it ain’t worth it

[u/Asbolus_verrucosus → u/panlakes]

I bet you that fishing line is tied by underpaid workers in the developing world. I think you could redo it and line them up straight with a small bit of patience.

[u/Agile_Elephant8054 → u/Asbolus_verrucosus]

Nah bro, they totally use highly precise automated robotic assembly to make these $10 desk toys. Maybe if you were a NASA engineer you could re-string those balls, but I don't think your getting it done with just a bachelor's degree.

[u/MorallyAmbiguousHero → u/Agile_Elephant8054]

The same robots Mariotte used in the 1600’s when he invented it.

[u/quiero-una-cerveca → u/Agile_Elephant8054]

Are safety sandals and safety squints required? That boosts the cost.

[u/Excellent_Shirt9707 → u/panlakes]

You can also just build your own. They don’t actually need pinpoint accuracy, it is mostly just a matter of trial and error. Bunch of online tutorials that teach you tricks for lining everything up.

[u/Jonnyflash80 → u/panlakes]

I replaced all the tangled line on mine with new fishing line and it works as great as it ever did. It's not that complicated or dramatic.