alt Hacker NewsI hate the phrase "zero backlash" that gets used right in the intro. Nothing has zero backlash. If it did, that would mean the material is incompressible & unstretchable: it would have an infinite speed of sound. You could implement FTL communication using zero-backlash actuators. Capstan drives have backlash because the rope stretches. It's very low if using a low-stretch rope, but nonzero.
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vablings • today at 7:15 PM
Backlash is specifically the slack between directional change. The forces you describe are proportional to force. Backlash is independent of force
What you are referring to is stiffness, which is different than backlash. Backlash, or play, is due to gaps.