square roots

square roots

Posers and Puzzles

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g
Wayward Soul

Your Blackened Sky

Joined
12 Mar 02
Moves
15128
07 Mar 05

what's the msot ingenious method of finding square roots that you have come accross?

if you take a pendulum and measure the time for x swings, then half the length and measure the time for x swings, then divide the first time by the second - you have 3^(1/2) ! (that's an exclamation mark, not a factorial by the way...)

to find root 3, third the length, root 4 quater it etc...! although it only works accuratly without dampening i think...anwyay, anyone got any more random ways?...

Insanity at Masada

tinyurl.com/mw7txe34

Joined
23 Aug 04
Moves
26660
07 Mar 05
1 edit

Originally posted by genius
what's the msot ingenious method of finding square roots that you have come accross?

if you take a pendulum and measure the time for x swings, then half the length and measure the time for x swings, then divide the first time by the seco ...[text shortened]... ut dampening i think...anwyay, anyone got any more random ways?...
Wow. That is amazing.

The only one I can think of is by measuring the long side of an isosceles right triangle.

T

Joined
29 Feb 04
Moves
22
07 Mar 05
3 edits

Originally posted by genius
- you have 3^(1/2)
Typo alert!

Do we need a pendulum (whose accuracy depends on theta)?

Drop an apple from a tree.
Drop it again from another tree twice as big/small.
Divide one time by the other.
(Of course, wind resistance will be a factor.)

i

Joined
30 Oct 04
Moves
7813
07 Mar 05

Originally posted by THUDandBLUNDER
Typo alert!

Do we need a pendulum (whose accuracy depends on theta)?

Drop an apple from a tree.
Drop it again from a another tree twice as big/small.
Divide one time by the other.
(Of course, wind resistance will be a factor.)

This sounds like a lot of tree climbing 🙂 🙂 🙂

v

Joined
24 Dec 04
Moves
484
16 Mar 05

you could just look at the formula for the time period of a pendulum and you'd know that anyway. the best way of finding square roots is using matrices.

g
Wayward Soul

Your Blackened Sky

Joined
12 Mar 02
Moves
15128
16 Mar 05

well-yeah-that's where i got it from...😛

P
Bananarama

False berry

Joined
14 Feb 04
Moves
28719
17 Mar 05

Originally posted by valdez
you could just look at the formula for the time period of a pendulum and you'd know that anyway. the best way of finding square roots is using matrices.
How do you use matrices to find square roots? Sounds interesting.

B
Non-Subscriber

RHP IQ

Joined
17 Mar 05
Moves
1345
22 Mar 05

Originally posted by THUDandBLUNDER
Typo alert!

Do we need a pendulum (whose accuracy depends on theta)?

Drop an apple from a tree.
Drop it again from another tree twice as big/small.
Divide one time by the other.
(Of course, wind resistance will be a factor.)

Do the trees have square roots?