Would this be possible?

[Gutter92]

For the sake of humanity, let this be a troll thread.

Care to give a reason why this is not possible? Theoretically it should be.

[Dex]

Care to give a reason why this is not possible? Theoretically it should be.

Actually, no, theoretically it shouldn't. There is a little thing called gravity that you seem to fail to consider.

Even if your friend had the physical strength to lift you, after having been lifted by you, his feet would immediately fall back to the earth as soon as your feet left it. Regardless of whether you can support the weight of each other, one or the other must be supporting the weight of both of you against Earth's gravity. Goes back to that whole action and reaction thing.

Or do you really think that once you lift your friend off the ground, he is going to magically be able to float in the air and lift you higher? Or that his internal lifting strength is somehow going to counteract the external influence of gravity?

It doesn't matter how much beefcake your friend eats; you're never going to escape Newton's laws.

[HighLowLobForBig-50]

lever, FTW

[Gutter92]

Actually, no, theoretically it shouldn't. There is a little thing called gravity that you seem to fail to consider.

Even if your friend had the physical strength to lift you, after having been lifted by you, his feet would immediately fall back to the earth as soon as your feet left it. Regardless of whether you can support the weight of each other, one or the other must be supporting the weight of both of you against Earth's gravity. Goes back to that whole action and reaction thing.

Or do you really think that once you lift your friend off the ground, he is going to magically be able to float in the air and lift you higher? Or that his internal lifting strength is somehow going to counteract the external influence of gravity?

It doesn't matter how much beefcake your friend eats; you're never going to escape Newton's laws.

How much would you have to be able to lift to counteract gravity? Is it in the hundreds of pounds, or thousands?

His feet wouldn't immediately touch the floor; there would be a .5 sec interval in between, where he would be lifting me up (in that time, if he is fast enough), so after t he initial lift, neither of our legs should touch the floor again until we stop.

[MannyIsGod]

Dude you're onto something here

[easjer]

God, I needed this laugh today.

[fraga]

[resistanze]

Excellent troll thread.

[Dex]

How much would you have to be able to lift to counteract gravity? Is it in the hundreds of pounds, or thousands?

His feet wouldn't immediately touch the floor; there would be a .5 sec interval in between, where he would be lifting me up (in that time, if he is fast enough), so after t he initial lift, neither of our legs should touch the floor again until we stop.

There's no way of debating this if you refuse to acknowledge the basic laws of physics. It doesn't matter how much physical power your body is capable of exerting; gravity is still going to impart its force on you. If anything, when you friend tries to lift you after you've lifted him, his power is just going to become centrifugal force and spin you both on your vertical axis. Either way, gravity is still going to pull you back down to earth, so you're just gonna land on your feet or on your ass.

I hate to disappoint you, but its not going to work. If you would like to know for sure, do some pushups, conduct a science experiment, and try it out with a friend.

[Gutter92]

This would be a more accurate picture of what I mean, the other one only had "step 1" and it didn't continue.

[img] http://img169.imageshack.us/img169/2289/example1l.jpg [/img]

[Dex]

Oh well, why didn't you just say so. Of course that would work.

[Gutter92]

There's no way of debating this if you refuse to acknowledge the basic laws of physics. It doesn't matter how much physical power your body is capable of exerting; gravity is still going to impart its force on you. If anything, when you friend tries to life you after you've lifted him, his power is just going to become centrifugal force and spin you both on your vertical axis. Either way, gravity is still going to pull you back down to earth, so you're just gonna land on your feet or on your ass.

I hate to disappoint you, but its not going to work. If you would like to know for sure, do some pushups, conduct a science experiment, and try it out with a friend.

Yea, I realize gravity is the biggest force working against you. Theoretically, why would this not be possible if the two people are strong enough? How does NASA launch their shuttle's if gravity would just stop it from going up? I realize that EVENTUALLY you'd need to come back down, you learn that in 4th grade "What goes up must come down", but surely if you were strong enough it would be possible, if even for a short time?

[Gutter92]

Here's something else I'm curious about. I remember a few weeks back, someone said something about how magnets work.

Would this be possible, if the magnetic attraction was strong enough?



The car should be going forwards infinitely, as the magnet would continue pulling forward

[tlongII]

I don't know if Gutter92 is a troll or not, but he sure is funny!

[pawe]

[Useruser666]

This thread reminds me of that big seatbelt/seesaw scare of the late 80's.

[heatluva]

each man would have to be powerful enough to thrust the other upward as a speed faster than that of gravity, imho

[DarkReign]

each man would have to be powerful enough to thrust the other upward as a speed faster than that of gravity, imho

Great thread, funny, too. But...

Ummmm, no.

Strength has nothing to do with this little non-thought experiment.

Dex did a good job of explaining the principle. Action/Reaction. Think of doing this little Ballet of Brilliance in space, even without gravity pulling you down.

It still doesnt work because no matter how strong/fast you lift your less-than-intelligent friend, the same force is being applied to you, the Amateur Astronaut. As you lift, your butt-buddy rises only half the lift distance because you (the lifter) descend by half the lift distance. There is a theoretical way of "swimming" in zero gravity, but it would require a non-human physiology or a suit of incredible proportions (has to do with the natural curve of space-time and exploiting its inherent weaknesses).

Throw gravity's unyielding effect on things (ie Earth) and you have to contend with its impact on inertia. An object at rest, stays at rest unless acted upon by an outside force (7th grade science class, right there). In this non-instance, the outside force is gravity and the objects are the two future leaders of the world embracing each other.

The magnet picture is a good one, too.

[Gutter92]

Great thread, funny, too. But...

Ummmm, no.

Strength has nothing to do with this little non-thought experiment.

Dex did a good job of explaining the principle. Action/Reaction. Think of doing this little Ballet of Brilliance in space, even without gravity pulling you down.

It still doesnt work because no matter how strong/fast you lift your less-than-intelligent friend, the same force is being applied to you, the Amateur Astronaut. As you lift, your butt-buddy rises only half the lift distance because you (the lifter) descend by half the lift distance. There is a theoretical way of "swimming" in zero gravity, but it would require a non-human physiology or a suit of incredible proportions (has to do with the natural curve of space-time and exploiting its inherent weaknesses).

Throw gravity's unyielding effect on things (ie Earth) and you have to contend with its impact on inertia. An object at rest, stays at rest unless acted upon by an outside force (7th grade science class, right there). In this non-instance, the outside force is gravity and the objects are the two future leaders of the world embracing each other.

The magnet picture is a good one, too.

So how exactly do space shuttles lift off from earth? Because the force is strong enough, no? That's why I am asking; shouldn't it be possible if the two people are strong enough, much like the space shuttle?

[Summers]

So how exactly do space shuttles lift off from earth? Because the force is strong enough, no? That's why I am asking; shouldn't it be possible if the two people are strong enough, much like the space shuttle?

Oh, Jiminy Cricket. I assume you're either still trolling, still on an acid trip, or eight years old. But, whatever, I'm in. The space shuttle lifts off because it supplies continuous thrust against gravity. It doesn't jump or provide push with one good blast of force. You know those giant tanks that get dropped into the ocean as soon as the shuttle makes it out of the atmosphere? Those are giant tanks that used to be full of frozen fuel and they are spent because they have just provided a crapload of continuous thrust against the force of gravity.

In your thought experiment, as soon as you lift your friend up in the air, he has no way of providing force against gravity because his feet are in the air. The two of you are a unit with a center of gravity probably somewhere between you and, as a unit, are being pulled down by gravity. As soon as he lifts your feet off the ground, there is nothing supporting your weight, so gravity pulls your center of gravity down. He may be able to lift you above his head before you both hit the ground, but in doing so he sinks closer to the ground, not just due to gravity, but due to shifting your collective center of gravity upward. Your center of gravity, as a unit, cannot defy the force of gravity unless some thrust is provide AFTER the second person's feet lift off the ground. You could jump while he pulls you up, but your center of gravity can only reach as high as the thrust provided.

[Summers]

each man would have to be powerful enough to thrust the other upward as a speed faster than that of gravity, imho

No. See above.

[Gutter92]

Oh, Jiminy Cricket. I assume you're either still trolling, still on an acid trip, or eight years old. But, whatever, I'm in. The space shuttle lifts off because it supplies continuous thrust against gravity. It doesn't jump or provide push with one good blast of force. You know those giant tanks that get dropped into the ocean as soon as the shuttle makes it out of the atmosphere? Those are giant tanks that used to be full of frozen fuel and they are spent because they have just provided a crapload of continuous thrust against the force of gravity.

In your thought experiment, as soon as you lift your friend up in the air, he has no way of providing force against gravity because his feet are in the air. The two of you are a unit with a center of gravity probably somewhere between you and, as a unit, are being pulled down by gravity. As soon as he lifts your feet off the ground, there is nothing supporting your weight, so gravity pulls your center of gravity down. He may be able to lift you above his head before you both hit the ground, but in doing so he sinks closer to the ground, not just due to gravity, but due to shifting your collective center of gravity upward. Your center of gravity, as a unit, cannot defy the force of gravity unless some thrust is provide AFTER the second person's feet lift off the ground. You could jump while he pulls you up, but your center of gravity can only reach as high as the thrust provided.

So it wouldn't work no matter how strong we are? Even unrealistically strong? One persons feet would always have to be on the ground to lift? This makes sense if this is the case; thanks for explaining

[The Reckoning]

trolling sucks if the material isnt original

[Dex]

This is my favorite.

Energy crisis: solved.

[lint]

trolling sucks if the material isnt original

+1