Some interesting questions

[MyndFyre]

Wouldn't it only fall at 64 fps 'cause it's still be within earth's gravitational pull and the exit hole doesn't like, boost it, or something? Am I just wrong?

Acceleration due to gravity is approximately 32 ft/s^2.  It's undergoing a constant force due to gravity.  That means every second an object is in freefall, it is going 32 feet per second faster than it was the second before (kind of.  air friction will lessen that, but if it is ignored, this is about true).

This acceleration is true only close to the Earth's surface.  True [classical] gravitational potential energy is calculated by Newton's famous (-(GMm)/r).

Terminal velocity is relative to the apparent horizontal surface are of the referenced object.  A dime has a different terminal velocity than a meteor, but they both undergo the same acceleration.

But isn't terminal velocity only relevant when there is a normal force of air?  There isn't a terminal velocity for an object in a vacuum, except maybe C.

[Sidoh]

x86] link=topic=5916.msg70120#msg70120 date=1147998856]
But isn't terminal velocity only relevant when there is a normal force of air?  There isn't a terminal velocity for an object in a vacuum, except maybe C.

I thought that was implied, but I suppose I could have specified.

Also, it's not restricted to air.  Terminal velocity is applicable to any momentous object present in a frame of reference with objects of different momenta (for example: water).  It's less practical and far less predictable when in an area without an equally distributed substance, but it's still there.

C != c ;).  I'm not sure what C is, but the universal symbol for the speed of light is c (case does make a difference--E = energy, e = lim[n->infinity](1+1/n)^n).  Terminal velocity is the maximum velocity an object can reach when under a constant acceleration due to frictional forces.  Light does not undergo friction.  Light slows down in particular mediums for other reasons.  When a photon "collides" with an atom, an electron absorbs its energy and jumps to a higher energy shell.  It very shortly moves to its original shell and re-radiates the energy.  This reaction does not occur instantaneously, so as one might intuitively conclude, the more atoms that light "bumps" into on its path, the longer it takes.

The properties of refraction of light are also pretty interesting:

sin(angle1)/c1 = sin(angle2)/c2

With that relationship, you can measure the speed of light in various mediums.

Edit: Remembered.  C is Coulombs, the SI measurement of charge.

[rabbit]

Hmm..I thought of a good one.  I'd take one pad and send it into orbit, then drop Joe in the other.

As for the bag, maybe sell it to the mafia :P

As per the dropping magnet, Earth's gravity would gradually push the magnet sideways and shatter the barrier.

[Sidoh]

Hmm..I thought of a good one.  I'd take one pad and send it into orbit, then drop Joe in the other.

As for the bag, maybe sell it to the mafia :P

As per the dropping magnet, Earth's gravity would gradually push the magnet sideways and shatter the barrier.

Haha, that's pretty good.

If you could somehow invest some of the energy gained in downward acceleration into a rotational velocity, you could significantly lessen that time.

[MyndFyre]

If I had a Bag of Holding (like #2), I'd leave it at the bottom of the ocean. When the world eventually ran out of water, I'd go retrieve and and start selling water to people/countries at an extremely high price. 

Dude Ron, you really are an American capitalist pig at heart!  <tear> I'm so proud of you!

[dark_drake]

I'd throw one teleporter into the deepest part of the ocean.  Then, I'd sell deep-ocean "voyages" to dumb people. I'll make a ton of money and get rid of a bunch of stupid people.

For the bottomless bag, I'd go into the storage business.  People would pay me to hold on to their stuff, and society could use the extra building space for more useful things.

[iago]

I'd throw one teleporter into the deepest part of the ocean.  Then, I'd sell deep-ocean "voyages" to dumb people. I'll make a ton of money and get rid of a bunch of stupid people.

One problem with that idea:the water would probably start flowing through it, although if you used that water to power a turbine you get lots of free power. :)

[dark_drake]

I'd throw one teleporter into the deepest part of the ocean.  Then, I'd sell deep-ocean "voyages" to dumb people. I'll make a ton of money and get rid of a bunch of stupid people.

One problem with that idea:the water would probably start flowing through it, although if you used that water to power a turbine you get lots of free power. :)

Exactly.

[Super_X]

I thought one side was the entry and the other was the exit.

[Sidoh]

I thought one side was the entry and the other was the exit.

No, it's cyclic.  Each one transports whatever touches it to the other.

[Super_X]

I thought one side was the entry and the other was the exit.

No, it's cyclic.  Each one transports whatever touches it to the other.

Oh, then like.. putting something on one would do nothing, and like, everything? it would just like infinantally move back and forth, right?

[iago]

I thought one side was the entry and the other was the exit.

No, it's cyclic.  Each one transports whatever touches it to the other.

Oh, then like.. putting something on one would do nothing, and like, everything? it would just like infinantally move back and forth, right?

Well, I assume it falls out the other or something.  Like a teleporter. 

[Sidoh]

Oh, then like.. putting something on one would do nothing, and like, everything? it would just like infinantally move back and forth, right?

It depends on how you position them. :P

[iago]

Well, you specifically said that they have to be laid flat.  But I figured that was an oversight :P

[Sidoh]

Well, you specifically said that they have to be laid flat.  But I figured that was an oversight :P

Meaning that it's not folded over itself, so it forms a reasonably flat plane.  Sorry. :P