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Riddle

Posted on 11/1/15 at 12:50 am
Posted by gizmoflak
Member since May 2007
11660 posts
Posted on 11/1/15 at 12:50 am
A giant inverted steel pyramid is perfectly balanced on its point. Any movement of the pyramid will cause it to topple over. Underneath the pyramid is a $100 bill. How do you remove the bill intact without disturbing the pyramid?
Posted by IceTiger
Really hot place
Member since Oct 2007
26584 posts
Posted on 11/1/15 at 12:52 am to
Tear the hundred and tape it
Posted by gizmoflak
Member since May 2007
11660 posts
Posted on 11/1/15 at 12:53 am to
That makes no sense
Posted by FT
REDACTED
Member since Oct 2003
26925 posts
Posted on 11/1/15 at 12:55 am to
You don't. It's hard and you're drunk at 12:54 on Halloween night.
Posted by DummyKim
Member since Oct 2015
119 posts
Posted on 11/1/15 at 12:55 am to
Why do I need that $100 bill? Walks past hundy
Posted by MykTide
Member since Jul 2012
25487 posts
Posted on 11/1/15 at 12:55 am to
Just grab the bill. You didn't say it was under the tip.

Posted by gizmoflak
Member since May 2007
11660 posts
Posted on 11/1/15 at 12:56 am to
quote:

You don't. It's hard and you're drunk at 12:54 on Halloween night.


Nope. It's 1:56
Posted by gizmoflak
Member since May 2007
11660 posts
Posted on 11/1/15 at 12:57 am to
quote:

Just grab the bill. You didn't say it was under the tip.


Winner
Posted by DummyKim
Member since Oct 2015
119 posts
Posted on 11/1/15 at 12:57 am to
Oh shite. Great Scott!!!
This post was edited on 11/1/15 at 12:58 am
Posted by FT
REDACTED
Member since Oct 2003
26925 posts
Posted on 11/1/15 at 12:57 am to
Also, I've heard this riddle before and there isn't an answer. You worded it wrong. Removing the bill intact, given the parameters, is impossible.
Posted by gizmoflak
Member since May 2007
11660 posts
Posted on 11/1/15 at 12:59 am to
quote:


Also, I've heard this riddle before and there isn't an answer. You worded it wrong. Removing the bill intact, given the parameters

Wrong again.
Posted by jmh5724
Member since Jan 2012
2135 posts
Posted on 11/1/15 at 12:05 am to
I've seen this riddle and the answer was to burn the money to remove it. Doing it intact is impossible unless you use The Force
Posted by Pectus
Internet
Member since Apr 2010
67302 posts
Posted on 11/1/15 at 12:46 am to
Sell the steel as scrap. Make way more than $100.
Posted by Street Hawk
Member since Nov 2014
3460 posts
Posted on 11/1/15 at 12:49 am to
In high-school level classical mechanics, yes, you are told the maximum magnitude of static friction is simply a coefficient µs (depending on the materials) times the magnitude of the normal force, FN. This is independent of area because the smaller the area, the greater the contact pressure and so the more interlocked the uneven surfaces become, meaning more static friction per unit area. Thus sliding the inverted pyramid will not be feasible in this model.

In reality this nice area-independence would probably break down for such high pressure. Coefficients of static friction are recognized as cute toy models suitable for high school but they are not terribly accurate in the real world. In physics language, you have moved beyond the linear regime.

More interesting is the idea of tipping the pyramid over. It may be perfectly balanced, yes, but it is in unstable equilibrium. That is, classically, even the smallest perturbation to the system will grow in a positive feedback loop. Unless your model specifies that there is a static friction torque at the apex, a slight push will angle the pyramid slighty, and then gravity will take the whole thing down for you. This is true no matter how much inertia the object has (even though it may not seem like it - you have to mentally separate notions of "arbitrarily small effect" and "zero effect").
Posted by Pectus
Internet
Member since Apr 2010
67302 posts
Posted on 11/1/15 at 12:51 am to
The feds count the money as long as 1/3rd of the bill reamains.
Posted by FT
REDACTED
Member since Oct 2003
26925 posts
Posted on 11/1/15 at 1:19 am to
I see the play on it, and I like it, but the usual riddle is worded without the "intact".

Good riddle. I can't always be right.
Posted by Kafka
I am the moral conscience of TD
Member since Jul 2007
141905 posts
Posted on 11/1/15 at 2:23 am to
quote:

In high-school level classical mechanics, yes, you are told the maximum magnitude of static friction is simply a coefficient µs (depending on the materials) times the magnitude of the normal force, FN. This is independent of area because the smaller the area, the greater the contact pressure and so the more interlocked the uneven surfaces become, meaning more static friction per unit area. Thus sliding the inverted pyramid will not be feasible in this model.

In reality this nice area-independence would probably break down for such high pressure. Coefficients of static friction are recognized as cute toy models suitable for high school but they are not terribly accurate in the real world. In physics language, you have moved beyond the linear regime.

More interesting is the idea of tipping the pyramid over. It may be perfectly balanced, yes, but it is in unstable equilibrium. That is, classically, even the smallest perturbation to the system will grow in a positive feedback loop. Unless your model specifies that there is a static friction torque at the apex, a slight push will angle the pyramid slighty, and then gravity will take the whole thing down for you. This is true no matter how much inertia the object has (even though it may not seem like it - you have to mentally separate notions of "arbitrarily small effect" and "zero effect").
+1
Posted by tigerbutt
Deep South
Member since Jun 2006
24581 posts
Posted on 11/1/15 at 3:03 am to
Congrats on copying someone else's answer Street Hawk
Scroll down in link
Posted by Jim Rockford
Member since May 2011
98182 posts
Posted on 11/1/15 at 3:39 am to
Leave it. Benjamins are for poors to pick up.
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