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My brain went the other direction, but my intuition still went to a correct answer. A rope wrapped around the Equator, with the exact length required to be arou
by craftinator 7y ago
My brain went the other direction, but my intuition still went to a correct answer. A rope wrapped around the Equator, with the exact length required to be around it, would rest on the ground and be tight. Adding an extra yard would make it loose. Assuming it was frictionless and completely inelastic, anyone could pull it and amass a yard length of length of the rope at their location, and that yard could be distributed to any point along the Equator, which would be noticeable.
- ramblerman 7y agoNo your intuition is still wrong. It would be almost 6 inches off the floor all the way round the earth.
- craftinator 7y agoWhy would it not lay on the ground with some slack? There is not enough structure in a normal rope to hold one end of it horizontally, 6 inches off the ground, and have the rest extend out horizontally, 6 inches off the ground as well. I understand that gravity would be pulling equally on all portions of it, but would not some variation in the material or surrounding air cause it to crumple at one point (or shear, given the weight), or just be compressed until it was laying on the ground? What is it about being a loop that protects it from gravitational induced motion?