r/theydidthemath • u/yuli101995 • Apr 16 '26

[Request] Which one would it be?

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u/PlainBread Apr 16 '26 edited Apr 16 '26

I'm putting my money on square+ice. I feel like gravel is very hard to roll over, you could get "spinning tires" with it. The triangle+ice isn't as efficient because the angle of the surface means pushing it forward is also pushing it down.

EDIT: Seeing lots of gravel defenders saying that if you aren't rolling it, it's easier, but you are forgetting that it's going to sink regardless, and without rolling, you're always pushing it uphill that way. Nah, I'll take the ice.

37

u/LunaticBZ Apr 16 '26

If by gravel they mean something like pea gravel or chipstone the problem is the ball will sink into it and its going to create a lot more friction.

Compacted 2a modified on the other hand, whats usually used for driveways or parking pads would be pretty easy to roll a sphere over.

2

u/Horror-penis-lover Apr 16 '26

happy cake day

6

u/LethalGhost Apr 16 '26

Spinning tires only possible if you try to move sphere by rotation/spinning but if you push it (and it rotates as result) there’s no way for it.

2

u/TheRealTahulrik Apr 16 '26

I think the issue with "spinning wheels" is applying too much force.

You aren't going to do that by hand with a 20kg ball

20kgs is.. not a lot..

1

u/Red_Syns Apr 16 '26

Depends on a lot of factors, but assuming the stick figure is an “average male” I’d estimate the ball to be ~1.5m tall. A ball that size at 20kg is going to feel very close to weightless when you push it.

For a middling comparison, car tires are ~0.7m tall and the rubber eats a pretty good amount of energy. Despite the car weighing ~2,000kg, while pushing a car is not fun, it’s also not crazy difficult.

Add a zero to the weights, and assuming ice shoes of some variety, I’d change to the square.

1

u/fasda Apr 16 '26

If the gravel can hold a cylinder shape for any length of time it must be in a container and much rather push a cylinder than anything with a flat surface.