Okay.

So we’ve got an entirely flat surface that also happens to be the exact same length as the earth’s surface.

If you had one continuous piece of string that went from one end of that flat surface to the other, and on one end there was attached a bell… would you be able to ring the bell by pulling on the other end of string?

  • bionicjoey
    211·
    1 year ago

    It depends what the string is made of. When you tug on one end of the string, you create waves that travel the length of the string at the speed of sound. The speed of sound depends on the medium, so if the speed of sound in the material that the string is made of is 50mph for example, then the wave generated by pulling the string will propagate at that speed until it reaches the other end.

    The other consideration is the weight of the string. If you go to tug on one end of the string, but the rest of the string weighs thousands of pounds, then you probably won’t be able to tug it.