Nonlinear Dynamics of Wooden Toys Wooden toys are very
interesting systems from a dynamical point of view. We studied a
number of wooden toys in our paper The Nonlinear Dynamics of
Some Wooden Toys with Impact and Friction Some of the results
are shown on this webpage. The Woodpecker Toy The Woodpecker Toy
is a toy with interesting dynamic behaviour, showing both impact
and friction phenomena. The toy consists of a sleeve, a spring
and the woodpecker. The hole in the sleeve is slightly larger
than the diameter of the pole, thus allowing a kind of pitching
motion interrupted by impacts with friction. Click on the right
figure to see an animation of the motion. The Woodpecker Toy is
a system which can only operate in the presence of friction as
it relies on combined impacts and jamming. Restitution of the
beak with the pole is not essential for a periodic motion but
enlarges the resemblance with the typical behaviour of a
woodpecker. The motion of the toy lies in a plane, which reduces
the number of degrees of