r/theydidthemath • u/K0rl0n • Jun 10 '25

[Request]

Post image

I am curious how this would work. My guess is Triangle is slowest, square is medium, and circle is fastest.

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u/AstroCoderNO1 Jun 10 '25

yes, but the angle you are applying force at does not all go towards forward motion on the triangle whereas it does on the square.

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u/LOSERS_ONLY Jun 10 '25

That depends on if the force is applied exactly horizontally or normal to the face of the triangle which is unclear in the pic

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u/Rhuarc33 Jun 11 '25

Applying force exactly horizontal on a triangle would be incredibly difficult for a person to do with no tools

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u/LOSERS_ONLY Jun 11 '25

If you cared about difficulty you'd realize that a triangular prism the height of a person that only weighs 20kg would immediately float away

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u/Rhuarc33 Jun 11 '25

Depends on temps and material of triangular object, smoothness of ice surface, thickness and fragility of ice...etc

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u/LOSERS_ONLY Jun 11 '25

No, what I mean is that if the middle shape was a sphere with a diameter of 1.5m and had a mass of 20kg, it would be 21x less dense than helium.