07-09-2004, 02:55 PM
Given a chucking distance of 1m (seems reasonable) - and a woodchuck of mass 3.3kg (roughly avr. mass), the maximum energy that this wood chuck could have for throwing wood is:
e=mc2
e=3.3*(3*10^8)2=2.97*1017
minimum velocity required to chuck a piece of wood 1m :
s=ut+0.5at2
max efficiency at 45 degrees
(1,0)=(2-0.5)(V,V)+0.5(0,-9.8)(t2);
(2-0.5)=V=0.707
so E=1/2mv2 ...looking for m
2.97*1017=0.5*m*(0.7072)
roughly 1*1018 kg of wood could potentially be chucked by a woodchuck operating at maximum efficiency (this is only an approximate maximum limit).
There are some other important things to consider as well:
1:This sort of mad chucking would annihilate the woodchuck in the process, and so would be ethically a less than clear-cut question.
2:There is reasonable cause to increase the limit further, because one could allow the woodchuck to eat if his chucking was spread out over a non-singular time, and that would increase the amount he could chuck (though by a negligable magnitude, which is why i don't consider it here).
3:Considering the size of a woodchuck, the chucking distance could easily be reduced to half a meter and still be considered a chuck.
Of course, I would be bullshitting you if I actually did any of those calculations. This is something I once got off someone else. Anyhoo...
When will the world end?
e=mc2
e=3.3*(3*10^8)2=2.97*1017
minimum velocity required to chuck a piece of wood 1m :
s=ut+0.5at2
max efficiency at 45 degrees
(1,0)=(2-0.5)(V,V)+0.5(0,-9.8)(t2);
(2-0.5)=V=0.707
so E=1/2mv2 ...looking for m
2.97*1017=0.5*m*(0.7072)
roughly 1*1018 kg of wood could potentially be chucked by a woodchuck operating at maximum efficiency (this is only an approximate maximum limit).
There are some other important things to consider as well:
1:This sort of mad chucking would annihilate the woodchuck in the process, and so would be ethically a less than clear-cut question.
2:There is reasonable cause to increase the limit further, because one could allow the woodchuck to eat if his chucking was spread out over a non-singular time, and that would increase the amount he could chuck (though by a negligable magnitude, which is why i don't consider it here).
3:Considering the size of a woodchuck, the chucking distance could easily be reduced to half a meter and still be considered a chuck.
Of course, I would be bullshitting you if I actually did any of those calculations. This is something I once got off someone else. Anyhoo...
When will the world end?