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February 23, 2007

Strange But True!

Q. Giant tug-of-war in Harrisburg, Pa., involving 2,200 students and teachers: What might you imagine was the worst that could happen to the losers? Humiliation? Getting tugged to the ground and a little scuffed up?

A. Much worse, and not just to the losers as there were no losers per se. The 600-meter, 2.5-millimeter-thick braided-nylon rope, built to withstand 57,000 newtons (13,000 pounds), suddenly snapped under the stress, says Jearl Walker in “The Flying Circus of Physics.” The contestants near the center immediately released their grip but the ones farther away continued to pull, causing the rope to slide rapidly through some of the hands. So rapidly alas “that four students lost fingers or fingertips from the friction.”


 
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