Posted by Darren (208.143.232.66) on May 21, 2003 at 12:40:05:
In Reply to: Man oh man, I REALLY think I've got it!!! posted by Joel L. Lewis on May 20, 2003 at 20:02:38:
:Imagine a pulley with a line hung over it. There's a weight on the line on the right, and on the other side is an equal weight, but much lower. What's going to happen? The lower weight i going to go DOWN, the higher weight will go UP, and the point halfway between them will remain halfway between them as they move away from it. Correct?
Um... no... if the weights are both equal in mass, and you discount the weight of the "rope" or whatever connects them then they won't go anywhere... the lower weight won't drop and the upper weight won't climb... they'll just hang there.
Think about it... why would the lower weight go down if there's an equal amount of weight on the other side to balance it?
Darren