The chimney-sweep: force of a body braced in a flue
A mechanics problem: how hard a 200-pound sweep presses with feet and back
A faint red-chalk sketch shows a small figure wedged between the two sides of a vertical chimney flue. The accompanying note poses a mechanics problem: if a chimney-sweep weighs 200 pounds, how much force does he exert with his feet and back against the walls of the chimney? It treats the sweep's body as a system pressing outward to hold itself up.
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Force of a chimney-sweep braced in a flue
Leonardo poses a mechanics problem: if a chimney-sweep weighs 200 pounds, how much force does he exert with his feet and back against the walls of the chimney? The small red-chalk sketch shows a figure wedged between the two sides of a vertical flue. The body is treated as pressing outward to support itself.