Math question?

This question is for any math/science buffs out there.

Okay, if you attach, let’s say a 10 pound weight plate, to your penis via a string or whatever device you use, your penis is supporting 10 pounds of weight.

Let’s suppose you attach a wheel to the underside of a desk, and hang the 10 pound plate via the wheel to your penis, thus enabling you to hang straight out while sitting at a chair in front of the desk.

My question is, are you still hanging an actual 10 pounds, or does the wheel act as a pulley and reduce the weight you are hanging?

I use this method and it has occurred to me that I may not be hanging as much weight as I thought I was.

If your wheel is able to perfectly rotate (ie assumed no resistance to friction that will take some of the load and reduce the overall effect) then perhaps it’s not that big a reduction. There is almost certainly a small torsional resistance element to this set up but without doing a finite element analysis, I think it’s safe to say that it’s negligible if you are using normal string and not some super stiff material as string. So overall probably not a great deal difference.

Any additional weights will almost certainly over a small weight differential give a linear increase in effective weight. So I actually think you shouldn’t worry too much about all this as long as the weights are doing an effective job.

Not unless you are using more than one pulley to distribute the force over a greater distance. Like Zowee said it will be slightly reduced due to friction and resistance but very very negligible unless your using velcro as your string.

Hang a ten pound weight on each side of the wheel and see if they balance.

Yes you are hanging a full ten pounds. If you attach a pulley system under the desk and its a single pulley block, your now hanging 100% of the weight. The weight doesn’t change until you start to incorporate more than one pulley system.

I got excited that this would be a thread about actual mathematics. That can’t be good…

Okay then, this one’s for you:

If my shaft has a diameter of 2 and 1/16 inches, what is my girth? :-)

Ha ha, me too.

Hah, pi*d = 3.14*2.0625 = HUGE. Good for you, mate. :D

The under the desk pulley method is a staple of old skool hanging. :thumbs:

Well at least I didn’t need to take off my shoes and socks.