Physicists, I call on you!

[RaVNzCRoFT]

'Help Smokey Prevent Wildfires'...

[Ketchup_Bomb]

Now that's not possible.

It's shopped. Shwooped even.

[Mar]

How unanimous of all you!
Boring!

The correct answer was, "It defies god and therefore must be destroyed!"

[JK-47]

That picture is such bullshit. Anyone who says that it isn't is stupid. The weight of the hammer would pull the ruler off the edge. Am I the only one who can see that it's barely hanging on the edge? The ruler's weight itself would be enough to make it fall off.

Diagram:



People get so caught up in their knowledge of physics that they deny any sort of common sense.

[Explosive American]

This is pretty much what Z@ndi said,

Looks fine to me. The hammer hangs on a string, and that string is a fulcrum for the hammer to tilt upward and put pressure on the ruler. This creates a reasonably stable structure, which will hold together. Notice the hammer's head is far to the left of the point at which the ruler touches the table. That counterbalances the whole mess. It's entirely possible.

[Kirk]

I've got the tools... I'll *try* to recreate it sometime today.

EDIT: Then again, I probably don't have the right kind of hammer. They probably used a specific one with the right weights.

[Tural]

Am I the only one who can see that it's barely hanging on the edge? The ruler's weight itself would be enough to make it fall off.

Which is why the hammer's head is below the ruler's part touching. It's a counterbalance to the weight of the ruler. It shifts the center of gravity of the setup to align it with the part of the ruler which is touching. Thus, allowing it to rest there without falling.

Information / Proof:
http://www.metacafe.com/watch/316065/st ... r_balance/
http://www.stanford.edu/group/henryspla ... ofMass.doc

"Check out how the center of gravity determines whether things tip or balance. Get a ruler, a rubber band and a hammer. Put the hammer through the rubber band at about the 2-inch mark. Put the hammer handle through the rubber band too, with the handle near the 11-inch mark, on the underside of the ruler. Rest the ruler on the edge of a table top with the hammerhead hanging under the table."

"Here's a simple model to help you understand how center of balance and counterbalances work: Take a piece of string about 30 cm (1') in length and form it into a circle. Take a ruler and a hammer and assemble them together as shown. Balance the end of the ruler against the edge of a table with the hammer hanging below."

"One day, long ago, I was shown how to hang a hammer from one end of a foot long
(30 cm) wooden ruler. Only a small portion of the other end of the ruler sat on a table.
It really caught my interest.
The trick is to have a loose loop of cord around both ruler and hammer handle, but
about 4 in. (10 cm) from their ends. The end of the hammer handle must be able to
touch against the ruler, and the hammer must hang free under the other end of the
ruler.
You can experiment with the size and placement of the loop.

Place the free end of the ruler on the edge of a desk or table so that the heavy end of
the hammer hangs underneath it. Done properly, the heavy hammer should appear
suspended under the table without any direct connection to it."

Ect.. Got it? Physically possible.

[Mar]

Well, here's what a student majoring in physics says about this picture.

Torque. Force (Weight) * Distance from pivot

The weight of the hammer is obviously pulling the ruler clockwise at a distance of 3.5cm ish.
The weight of the ruler is pulling clockwise at 29.5/2cm, so... 14.75cm

The hammer pushing upward is counter-clockwise at about 17.5cm.


17.5*Upward Force = 14.75*Ruler Weight + 3.5 * Hammer weight

The upward force of the handle depends on the angle at which the hammer is orientated. The more vertical the hammer is, the closer the center of gravity is to the string... therefore the less force acting on the handle.

There's more math I'm just too tired to get into because it involves some more complicated methods, especially considering the ruler is bent.

It IS possible. I'm just surprised that damn ruler doesn't break. =p It would be difficult to do though, because it's the bendyness (SO much for sounding smart) of the ruler that is the key to this. It has to do with Strength of materials and internal forces, though the basic concept is torque. It's things like this that make me love physics.

Now I'm more of a pen man, so until some of you math geniuses want to dispute this (although everyone's pretty much agreed it's possible), I'm also gonna jump on the bandwagon.

Edit: Damn you Tural and your googly eyed cat! How dare you edit your post and sprinkle it with proof while I'm posting?!

[INSANEdrive]

I find this tread to be hilarious

Also Mar, you gave what I asked for.

[Veegie]

Mar! My main man with the game plan.

[JK-47]

Information / Proof:
http://www.metacafe.com/watch/316065/st ... r_balance/

This one makes sense because the ruler is more on the fulcrum thing than this picture which is obviously fake.

[ExileLord]

Information / Proof:
http://www.metacafe.com/watch/316065/st ... r_balance/

This one makes sense because the ruler is more on the fulcrum thing than this picture which is obviously fake.

How is the original picture obviously fake?.. That video just showed how it works. Just because it doesn't look like it would work doesn't mean that it won't. The ruler in the video could have easily been shifted more away from the chair since it has a much smaller mass than the head of the hammer. This reminds me of those balancing bird things.

[SnaFuBAR]

This one makes sense because the ruler is more on the fulcrum thing than this picture which is obviously fake.

your powers of observation fail.

[JK-47]

This one makes sense because the ruler is more on the fulcrum thing than this picture which is obviously fake.

your powers of observation fail.

Thank you.

[Sgt.Peppers]

Yeah, I can see how it is possible, but it depends on all of the variables (which I don't feel like figuring out). I suppose of you were bored off your ass you could pull this off, but shit that looks insane.

[Tural]

This one makes sense because the ruler is more on the fulcrum thing than this picture which is obviously fake.

I'm going to need data of the following before you can factually disprove it through experimenting with objects of the exact same variables.

Weight of hammer
Center of gravity of hammer
Weight of rule
COG of ruler
Length of string
Amount of ruler on desk
Exact string position on each object
Angles of hammer and ruler
Ect.

It is possible to do, I was able to do it. I used a metal ruler, which bent a lot more than a plastic one does, but nevertheless, I was able to duplicate the situation.

It is real. By all of the evidence and dozens, possibly hundreds of people saying and showing that it is possible, that's way more than enough for proof of concept, which leads to the point that nobody would need to fake something which is entirely possible, and not difficult. It would be harder to fake it than to just do it. They happened to have the right type of supplies to make it look somewhat different than the video, it depends on the variables.

[Explosive American]

Damn, JK, don't you ever give up?

[Geo]

The whole purpose of it, is to make you go "wow that doesn't look possible" when it actually is, so the pictures aim is working great.

[JK-47]

****, JK, don't you ever give up?

I Just did, notice I didn't comment back.

[Explosive American]

It might have been just me, but that "thank you" sounded just a tad sarcastic, and didn't look to me like it contained any intention of accepting the fact that the photo is real.