If the two ends of a rope in equilibrium are pulled with forces of equal magnitude and opposite direction, why is the total tension in the rope is not zero?
2006-09-30 07:16:57 · 3 answers · asked by gjvallangca 1 in Education & Reference ➔ Other - Education
because the two oppisite ends of force are still attatched to the rope, the rope is said to be "taught" (spelling?). therefore, there must still be tension in the rope until the point where it breaks.
Think of a guitar string...the looser it gets, the deeper the sound, until you cannot play the string anymore. likewise, the tighter the string is (increase in tension) results in a higher pitch sound, up until the string cannot hold itself together anymore (tension) and it breaks.
hope this helps.
2006-09-30 07:26:38 · answer #1 · answered by Lee C 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
because tension is a force that occurs on every little fiber in the rope, tension refers to a force that wants to pull the rope apart, so if you have two people pulling with equal force, one force wants to pull it while another makes it stop, another example would be if you have a certain weight on the end of the rope and the rope was attached to a ceiling, the weight is pulling it down while the tension is pulling it up, what makes the tension pull up on the weight to make it into equilibrium is the ceiling, so if the ceiling was applying more force than the weight, the weight would be forced up, because the tension in the rope would be pulling it up as a result of the ceiling pulling it up, its kinda hard to explain. So in your example replace the weight and the ceiling with two people
2006-09-30 07:27:09 · answer #2 · answered by saga_child 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
gravity is pulling the oppsite way.... it is pulling it downward?
2006-09-30 07:20:59 · answer #3 · answered by plink 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋