What happens to weight if monkey tries to climb up cable to fetch bottle of vodka?

Question

It is said Lewis Carroll was perplexed by such puzzle.

Cable hangs over frictionless pulley, next to roof on which is nice bottle of Vodka.

Now weight which exactly balances monkey hanging on the other side is attached to a massless cable.


What would happen to the weight if monkey tries to climb up the cable?

Take everything in account, like friction, weight of cable ect.

I am surprised that no one mentionned a massless cable would'nt exist...

Anna, you are the first answerer to have given an accurate description of the equilibrium of the system, (for a massless cable, whatever a "massless" cable means...) but the weight did get wedged into the pulley.
Whiskey? LOL, why not?

Edward, as for your questions, the Vodka is of good quality, chilled and the monkey is allowed to vote...LOL

Err, Scythian, you also gave a good description but the bottle is on the roof...Not on the cable! With all due respect: LMBO, sorry, couldn't help it.

Answer 1

Important questions:
1. What brand of vodka was it?
2. Was vodka chilled?
3. How old was the monkey?

(The best way to look at this problem is by considering that monkey of mass M sitting on a sled and attached by cable to an identical sled with a mass M. They are on ice and the coefficient of friction is 0. The only thing we must consider is conservation of momentum)
Forces seem to be balanced until monkey adds a change of momentum with every pull up. For every attempt to go up length L monkey gets only L/2 up the cable (momentum will be shared equally between the counter weight and monkey). Finally with twice the effort monkey makes to the top. The weight is wedged into the pulley. Monkey grabs the bottle and slides down the cable and quickly running away as the whistling counter weight is about to deck our hero.

For a cable of some weight makes monkeys life easier as higher on the the rope monkey gets the more weight is behind him/her (probably her) less work needs to be done by our heroine. The pulley has some inertia and that would help monkey (burp... sorry). Again the weight gets lodged into the pulley ....same thing happens again. I hope

So where is that place?
Let's party!

Answer 2

This is an old canard. The easiest way to visualize the "mechanics" of this poser is to imagine a balance scale instead of a rope and a frictionless pulley. The monkey and the vodka are perfectly balanced. Does that mean that the monkey is unable to make the vodka (as well as himself) move up and down? No, he can easily do a see-saw by the manner the monkey is able to shift his own weight up and down. Thus, for example, if the monkey were to simply grab the rope, climb up a little, and then monkey around just right, he should be able to bring the bottle down far enough for him to grab it.

Of course, just by climbing to the very top to the roof, the monkey will get his bottle anyway. Regardless of what happens, both will meet up there.

Answer 3

If you did a free body diagram, you would see that the monkey being in perfect equilibrium couldn't climb the rope becuase the anchoring force was exactly the same as the force from the monkey. The anchoring force would have to slightly exceed the monkey force in order for any movement upward to occur.
If the cable had a mass, the problem becomes much more complex because the weight on either side of the pully would be variable.

Answer 4

As long as the monkey doesn't swing on the cable (like I'm sure he wants to), the weight will always be in the same vertical position as the monkey. As the monkey pulls on the cable to climb, the weight is pulled higher. For example, for every two feet of cable the monkey pulls, he will only move up one foot as the other foot is used by the weight. The monkey will have to work twice as hard to climb up the cable than if the cable had been attached to something stationary. Hopefully, he won't let go, cause he would fall as would the weight and we don't want a squashed monkey. When he gets to the pulley, he can let go of the cable (leaving the weight to plummet to its death) and jump up on the roof and grab the vodka in order to enjoy his hard work . If I were the monkey, I wouldn't have exerted the effort for vodka, just for whiskey or wine.

Answer 5

Of course the monkey would not be able to climb the cable like the others have said. But he could pull hte weight to the top of the pulley and hope to hit down the vodka. Or better yet, forget the vodka and just get the vermouth out of the refrigerator.

Answer 6

upon attempting to climb the rope, the weight would be pulled up and the monkey would remain stationary. this is ofcourse assuming no friction in the pully and a massless cable. however, if the monkey pulled the weight high enough, then jumped on it in mid air, he might be able to push off the freefalling weight to get enough thrust to make it to the top to get the vokda... then he gets sloshed, and falls off the roof hitting his head on the weight killing himself instantly. poor monkey.... :(

Answer 7

The monkey would drop his bottle of vodka..and eventually end up breaking his leg when he plunges off the cable after it...

Answer 8

are you extreme! ohmygosh!! kay couple issues first, what the he!l are you doing carry close around with older adult adult males? to make you experience cooler and tell all of you "acquaintances" which you have been with older adult adult males and that their became beverages and sh!t. actual, i think of you will be greater desirable then that. and prefer what all and sundry else pronounced you have killed her hate her or not how are you able to be dumb sufficient to do something like that??? do you hate her lots which you're able to try this you're able to take the possibility and can have KILLED her do you hate her lots which you've been in extreme hassle with the law enforcement officers? do you not think of in the previous you act? im sorry yet what's your difficulty merely leaving that party together with her subconscious??? if i've got been you i could have checked up on her, not that im DUMB sufficient to pour vodka down her by way of on an identical time as she nevertheless subconscious. im sorry, i don't know you yet... in no way could i imagin somebody might desire to do something as dumb as you have.

Answer 9

nacsez's answer so far.

The monkey would be very frustrated. Kind of like that dream where you try to run and you don't move.