Answer to skunk's question

**WINJA** · 11th July 2005, 21:11

Originally Posted by Hitcher

Here's another question for you professional scientists:

The Interisland ferry Awatere is lying at anchor in Wellington harbour. It has a rope ladder hanging down one side. The rungs are made of steel. The ladder has rungs spaced at 0.25m intervals. There are 80 rungs on the ladder above the waterline. It is currently low tide in Wellington harbour. The difference between the high and low tides tonight will be 3.28m. How many rungs on the ladder will be exposed at high tide?

WHO CARES

**Hitcher** · 11th July 2005, 21:12

Originally Posted by WINJA

WHO CARES

But you said you were a PRO?

**WINJA** · 11th July 2005, 21:17

Originally Posted by Hitcher

But you said you were a PRO?

IM NOT A MATHMATICIAN, YOU GUYS WERE JUST TALKING ABOUT A SUBJECT I DEAL WITH EVERYDAY. YOULL HAVE TO ASK INDY ABOUT BOATS, ROPES AND BABY OIL

**Hitcher** · 11th July 2005, 21:20

Originally Posted by WINJA

IM NOT A MATHMATICIAN, YOU GUYS WERE JUST TALKING ABOUT A SUBJECT I DEAL WITH EVERYDAY. YOULL HAVE TO ASK INDY ABOUT BOATS, ROPES AND BABY OIL

So you're really Jim Hickey?

**WINJA** · 11th July 2005, 21:23

Originally Posted by Hitcher

So you're really Jim Hickey?

NO , BUT SURELY THE SAME RUNG WILL BE IN THE SAME PLACE UNLESS THEIR LOADING THE BOAT OR THE MOORINGS HOLD IT DOWN

**Bartman10** · 11th July 2005, 21:27

Originally Posted by WINJA

ITS NOT THAT HARD -273 DEGC IS ABSOLUTE ZERO OR ZERO KELVIN, ITS AS COLD AS COLD CAN BE , I DONT THINK ITS BEEN COMPLETELY ACHIEVED BUT WE CAN GET CLOSE USING A CASCADE REFRIGERATION SYSTEM USING HELIUM/NITROGEN/CO2/404A OR R502 AND ME TO BUILD IT FOR YOU
EDIT

Quite right WINJA. You can't get to zero Kelvin (NOT degrees Kelvin). Say you had some beers and you wanted to cool them. Whaddya do? Stick em in the fridge of course. Now here's the crunch - the fridge is colder than the beer right - so to cool something you need something colder. In the case of the beer it's the fridge, in the case of the fridge it's the expanding CFC's that come out of the compressor. In the case of the expanding gas it's random molecular motion (THE MEASURE OF TEMPERATURE) being changed into directed molecular motion. Think about the "you need something colder" principle for a while and then tell me if it's possible to even get to zero Kelvin.

**Big Dave** · 11th July 2005, 21:41

Originally Posted by Hitcher

Here's another question for you professional scientists:

The Interisland ferry Awatere is lying at anchor in Wellington harbour. It has a rope ladder hanging down one side. The rungs are made of steel. The ladder has rungs spaced at 0.25m intervals. There are 80 rungs on the ladder above the waterline. It is currently low tide in Wellington harbour. The difference between the high and low tides tonight will be 3.28m. How many rungs on the ladder will be exposed at high tide?

The same - the boat goes up and down with the tide.

**Ixion** · 11th July 2005, 21:42

Mr Hitcher is right. The key is the statement "twice as cold". Twice as , compared to what. Unless we know that the statement is meaningless. However , when people say such things, they normally "twice as cold AS NORMAL, or as AVERAGE".

So if normal, or average, is about 22 degrees Celcius, then the comparison is 0 to 22 today, or -22 to 22 tomorrow.

**Bartman10** · 11th July 2005, 22:01

Originally Posted by Ixion

Mr Hitcher is right. The key is the statement "twice as cold". Twice as , compared to what. Unless we know that the statement is meaningless. However , when people say such things, they normally "twice as cold AS NORMAL, or as AVERAGE".

So if normal, or average, is about 22 degrees Celcius, then the comparison is 0 to 22 today, or -22 to 22 tomorrow.

NO! Get it out of your head that Celsius is a metric scale. It's not. What you're saying is equivilent to saying that the guy who rides number 46 in the motogp is only half as good as the guy that rides number 92. You can't infer fractions of temperature from the Celsius scale, just like you can't infer the quality of motogp riders by their numbers. Twice as cold as your "normal" is -125.575 degrees Celsius.

Where can I get a bike with 92 on the front?

**riffer** · 11th July 2005, 22:08

Originally Posted by Hitcher

Here's another question for you professional scientists:

The Interisland ferry Awatere is lying at anchor in Wellington harbour. It has a rope ladder hanging down one side. The rungs are made of steel. The ladder has rungs spaced at 0.25m intervals. There are 80 rungs on the ladder above the waterline. It is currently low tide in Wellington harbour. The difference between the high and low tides tonight will be 3.28m. How many rungs on the ladder will be exposed at high tide?

Are we to assume that the Awatere is still capable of floating? In which case there will be 80 rungs.

edit: damn - didn't check the second page of posts. It's already been answered.

And a question - if absolute zero can never be reached, how can we be sure that its as cold as it can get?

**WINJA** · 11th July 2005, 22:08

Originally Posted by Bartman10

it's the expanding CFC's that come out of the compressor. In the case of the expanding gas it's random molecular motion

I THINK YOU MEAN SUBCOOLED LIQUID COMING OUT OF THE RECEIVER OR CONDENSOR, SUPERHEATED VAPOUR COMES OUT OF THE COMPRESSOR

**Virago** · 11th July 2005, 22:24

Originally Posted by riffer

.........if absolute zero can never be reached, how can we be sure that its as cold as it can get?

When Mrs VV comes to bed tonight and puts her cold feet on me, I can assure you that absolute zero can be reached, and even surpassed.

But hey, good question. Also, if the speed of light cannot be reached, how do we know nothing can travel faster (with the possible exception of bad news)?

**Hitcher** · 11th July 2005, 22:33

Originally Posted by Bartman10

NO! Get it out of your head that Celsius is a metric scale. It's not.

Of course it's a "metric" scale!

One degree on the Kelvin scale is exactly the same as one degree on the Celsius scale. The only difference is that 0 degrees Celsius is the mean freezing point of water at sea level, whereas 0 degrees Kelvin is an extrapolation to "absolute zero", currently estimated as -273.15 Celsius.

**WINJA** · 11th July 2005, 22:34

Originally Posted by Virago = Viagra

When Mrs VV comes to bed tonight and puts her cold feet on me, I can assure you that absolute zero can be reached, and even surpassed.

But hey, good question. Also, if the speed of light cannot be reached, how do we know nothing can travel faster (with the possible exception of bad news)?

AT SCHOOL I BROKE THE SOUND BARRIER WHEN SOMEONE SAID THEY WERE GIVING AWAY PIES AT THE TUCK SHOP