Originally posted by dertsthats a good answer hehe
Well done. You can only lower the string until the weight of the string in the hole reaches its breaking strain.
one more aspect came into my mind though: it's gravity that pulls the string down the pit and that makes the string break at some point. so "below" the "bottomless" pit there has to be some kind of gravity source. but how can there be something below a pit that never ends?
if its not below, but at some point next to the pit, then you can lower the string only to that point (unless it breaks before). right?
Taking a different view, assume the bottomless pit is a hole clean through the earth (why not? it's bottomless!), then you can lower the string indefinitely -- the force on the string never approaches infinity, in fact it is at its greatest and is finite at the surface of the earth -- the string just sorta balls up at the center of the earth.
Originally posted by dertsThis experiment can never be done in reality.
Does anyone know how far you can lower a never ending piece of string into a bottomless pit?
First you have to dig a botomless pit. This take a whole eternity. I don't have the time to wait.
Then you have to manufacure a endless string. This take another whole eternity. I don't have time to wait.
Only after then you can begin to conduct the experiment. Who have bothered to wait this long time to see the result? I havn't.
So what will acctually happen when you lower a never ending piece of string into a bottomless pit? No one will ever know.
Originally posted by FabianFnasBut if you hire an assistant, you can dig the bottomless pit, while he manufactures the endless string. That way you won't have to wait Another whole eternity. In other words, you safe yourself a whole eternity. And that's just the time you need to dig the bottomless pit. I'd give it a try...
This experiment can never be done in reality.
First you have to dig a botomless pit. This take a whole eternity. I don't have the time to wait.
Then you have to manufacure a endless string. This take another whole eternity. I don't have time to wait.
Originally posted by crazyblueEven at a low salary, say 10 bucks an hour, it will be very expensive to hire an assistant.
But if you hire an assistant, I'd give it a try...
Try multiply the hourly salary by the infinity number of hours it will take to dig the bottomless pit and you'll see the money runs out quite soon.
I'll say it is an impossible project.