Subject: RE: Re: One solution :-) to the geometry problem From: colliera@isaiah.csps.com Date: Sun, 29 Sep 96 14:34:22 EST

The mathematical brainpower and creativity of the subscribers to this list are 
remarkable. As I grin and roll my eyeballs, a niggly little question bubbles up 
to the surface: Is this thread symptomatic of something? Do we need to get 
lives? Is there a tennis, bridge, or golf game - or maybe even some legitimate 
work - calling us to direct our eyeballs and fingertips away from screen and 
keyboard on an autumn sat.? Naaaah.
Anne Collier
csmonitor.com 
- --------------
Referring to:

>Gordy's solution is quite elegant and entertaining as well as informative
>(as David Letterman has discovered). However, Gordy has neglected to
>include the formula for determining the height of the building. As I'm
>sure you'll all recall from high school physics,
>
>s=v(i)t + 1/2 at^2
>
>Where s=distance, v(i)=initial velocity, a=acceleration and t=time
>
>In this case, initial velocity is zero, which simplifies the issue. So all
>you really have to do is measure the amount of time it takes to turn the
>barometer into a poisonous blob of mercury and broken glass and plug it
>into the formula, where acceleration is, of course, the force of gravity
>or 32 feet per second per second, or 9.8 meters per second per second as
>my smart-aleck kid keeps saying because nobody uses the English system any
>more. 
>
>Of course, this assumes that you have a stopwatch as well as >a
>barometer...
>
>
>
>> On Fri, 27 Sep 1996, Gordy Thompson wrote:
>>
>> At 10:01 AM 9/27/96 -0400, Daniel P Dern wrote:
>> 
>>>Take the compass in your dominant hand.
>>>Open it up until it is as straight as possible.
>>>Hold it at waist level.
>>>Threaten people with it until you find somebody who knows the answer.
>>>Use the straightedge to bust out of the jail cell.
>>
>> Here's the physics homework assignment in advance:
>> 
>>        Q: Using only a barometer, determine the height of a skyscraper.
>>
>>        A: Offer it to the superintendent if he'll tell you how tall it is.
>> 
>>        Alternate solution: Drop it from the top of the building, count the
>> number of seconds it takes to hit the pavement ...
>>
>>==========================================================================
>> Gordon T. Thompson                                      gordy@nytimes.com
>> Manager, Internet Services                              212 556 1386
>>The New York Times                                      fax: 212 556 1636
>>   The Times and I have an arrangement: Neither of us speaks for the other.
>>
>> +---------------------------------------------------------------------------+
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> 
>
>-----------------------------------------------------------------
>Mike Himowitz                              Phone: 410-332-6638
>Electronic News Editor                     Fax: 410-752-6049
>The Baltimore Sun                          email mikeh@clark.net
>-----------------------------------------------------------------
>I speak for no one in particular. Void where prohibited by law.
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+
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