Hey, there! Log in / Register
MIT students contest validity of Newton's Third Law
By adamg on Mon, 12/23/2013 - 9:52am
State Police report that some MIT students were having fun with a 1,000-lb. remote-controlled boat in the Mystic River in Somerville last night. But all good things come to an end and the kids tried using a Ford Ranger to haul the boat out of the water. Instead, State Police say, the boat pulled the pickup into the river. State Police now advise:
If you are trying to pull out a boat from the Mystic River, be sure your truck can handle the pull!
Neighborhoods:
Free tagging:
Ad:
Support Universal Hub
Help keep Universal Hub going. If you like what we're up to and want to help out, please consider a (completely non-deductible) contribution.
Comments
I wasn't great at freshman physics
But even I know that you can't neglect friction and mass. I also know that you can just as easily winch your truck into the river as you can winch out a boat.
BTW, that ramp also has a nasty cross current and a wicked drop off.
I think they should retroactively flunk 8.01.
That IS a hell of a drop-off
Ignore Newton at your peril...didn't they notice the drop-off when they launched the thing or is it a tidal estuary?
Not Tidal
They draw down the water levels in the fall and winter, because tropical storms and Noreasters can cause sudden increases in precipitation (or snow melts suddenly). So the water levels are quite low right now.
I sometimes use these ramps in winter when the ice isn't an issue (wetsuits FTW), and it isn't uncommon for me to just drop my kayak off the end there.
My guess as to what happened: the ramp was slippery. They neglected the current. They didn't use a winch. They didn't check the drop off. So when they tried to start towing the boat, they lost traction and the current pulled the truck into the water.
They can
get to the moon but can't get a boat out of the water.
This is pretty commonplace at the boat ramp
Now for the 1/2 ton remote controlled boat, I gotta see a photo of that!