Luigi Fortunati wrote:So, it's the two opposing forces on the rope that determine who wins and
who loses in a tug of war.
>
It is not at all true what is said, that is, that the two opposing
forces (in tug-of-war) are always equal and opposite!
>
In the end, the father wins if the force F_father_on_the_rope is greater
than the force F_son_on_the_rope. The son wins if it's the opposite, and
they tie if the two forces are equal.
>
That's exactly what I was getting at.
>
Can you confirm that this is indeed the case?
>
Luigi Fortunati.
[[Mod. note --
Yes, that's correct.
Newton's 3rd law tells us that the two forces
F_father_on_rope (pulling right on the rope)
and
F_rope_on_father (pulling left on the father)
*are* always of the same magnitude.
Newton's 3rd law also tells us that the two forces
F_son_on_rope (pulling left on the rope)
and
F_rope_on_son (pulling right on the son)
*are* always of the same magnitude.
But the two forces
F_father_on_rope (pulling right on the rope)
and
F_son_on_rope (pulling left on the rope),
are in general NOT of the same magnitude. None of Newton's laws
specifies which of these is larger in magnitude.
-- jt]]
Very clear explanation, thank you.
If there's a rope between the father and the son, the third law applies
between the father and the rope, and also between the son and the rope,
but it doesn't apply to the father and son because they aren't in direct
contact.
So, let's eliminate the rope and put the father and son in direct
contact, as in the image https://ibb.co/rRJ5mvMC where they push each
other directly with their own hands.
The father says to the son: "Push toward me with your hands with all
your strength," and the son pushes.
The father uses only part of his force, just enough to balance the
son's, and thus the two opposing forces are equal, and both remain in
place (even though their masses are different).
Then the father wants the son to win, and reduces his force with his
hands, so that the son's force prevails and the father retreats a little.
Afterward, the father increases his strength to surpass that of his son
and advances, while the son is forced to retreat, his strength no longer
able to counteract that of his father.
How can all this alternating opposing forces be reconciled with the
third law that dictates their eternal equality?
Luigi Fortunati
| Date | Sujet | # | Auteur | |
| 19 Dec 25 |  Tug of War | 15 | Luigi Fortunati | |
| 26 Dec 25 |   Re: Tug of War | 1 | Luigi Fortunati | |
| 25 Dec 25 | Re: Tug of War | 11 | Jonathan Thornburg [remove -color to reply] | |
| 30 Dec 25 |  Re: Tug of War | 1 | Jonathan Thornburg [remove -color to reply] | |
| 1 Jan 26 | Re: Tug of War | 1 | Luigi Fortunati | |
| 2 Jan 26 | Re: Tug of War | 1 | Jonathan Thornburg [remove -color to reply] | |
| 3 Jan 26 | Re: Tug of War | 1 | Luigi Fortunati | |
| 11 Jan 26 | Re: Tug of War | 1 | Jonathan Thornburg [remove -color to reply] | |
| 14 Jan 26 | Re: Tug of War | 1 | Luigi Fortunati | |
| 17 Jan 26 | Re: Tug of War | 1 | Luigi Fortunati | |
| 20 Jan 26 |  Re: Tug of War | 3 | Luigi Fortunati | |
| 21 Jan 26 |  Re: Tug of War | 1 | Jonathan Thornburg [remove -color to reply] | |
| 22 Jan 26 | Re: Tug of War | 1 | Luigi Fortunati | |
| 20 Dec 25 | Re: Tug of War | 2 | Luigi Fortunati | |
| 24 Dec 25 | Re: Tug of War | 1 | Luigi Fortunati |
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