A Little Physics Mystery
by rrusczyk, Nov 11, 2007, 1:04 AM
Our house is on a well. We have a holding tank for the water. The tank is about 10 feet tall, maybe 12 feet in diameter. Atop the tank is a lid that is maybe 18 inches in diameter and about 10 pounds. It rests on top a matching hole on top of the tank. It is not latched to the tank - it simply rests on top of the tank. There's a circular lip on top of the tank that the lid rests on, so the lid can't slide if you push it laterally.
Back when the fires raced through San Diego, we had tremendous winds. The winds spiked up to 80-100 miles per hour.
Today, while walking my dogs, I found the lid to the water tank about 20 yards west (downwind) of the tank.
Test your physics knowledge: how in the world did that happen?
Back when the fires raced through San Diego, we had tremendous winds. The winds spiked up to 80-100 miles per hour.
Today, while walking my dogs, I found the lid to the water tank about 20 yards west (downwind) of the tank.
Test your physics knowledge: how in the world did that happen?
February 2012
January 2012