R H
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thread 1/11
The following concerns a question in a physics degree exam at the University of Copenhagen:

"Describe how to determine the height of a skyscraper using a barometer."
08:36 PM - Apr 29, 2024
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R H
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thread 2/11
One student replied,

"You tie a long piece of string to the neck of the barometer, then lower the barometer from the roof of the skyscraper to the ground. The length of the string plus the length of the barometer will equal the height of the building."
08:36 PM - Apr 29, 2024
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R H
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thread 3/11
This highly original answer so incensed the instructor that the student was failed. The student appealed on the grounds that his answer was indisputably correct and the university appointed an independent arbiter to decide the case.
08:36 PM - Apr 29, 2024
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R H
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thread 4/11
The arbiter judged that answer was indeed correct, but did not display knowledge of physics. To resolve the problem it was decided to call the student in and allow him six minutes in which to provide a verbal answer, which showed at least a minimal familiarity the principles of physics.
08:36 PM - Apr 29, 2024
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R H
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thread 5/11
For five minutes the student sat in silence, forehead creased in thought. The arbiter reminded him that time was running out, to which the student replied that he had several extremely relevant answers, but couldn't make up his mind which to use.
08:36 PM - Apr 29, 2024
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R H
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thread 6/11
On being advised to hurry up the student replied as follows,

"Firstly, you could take the barometer up to the roof of the skyscraper, drop it over the edge, and measure the time it takes to reach the ground. The height of the building can then be worked out from the formula H = 0.5g x t squared.
08:36 PM - Apr 29, 2024
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R H
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thread 7/11
But bad luck on the barometer."

"Or if the sun is shining you could measure the height of the barometer, then set it on end and measure the length of its shadow.
08:36 PM - Apr 29, 2024
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R H
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thread 8/11
Then you measure the length of the skyscraper's shadow, and thereafter it is a simple matter of proportional arithmetic to work out the height of the skyscraper."
08:36 PM - Apr 29, 2024
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R H
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thread 9/11
"But if you wanted to be highly scientific about it, you could tie a short piece of string to the barometer and swing it like a pendulum, first at ground level and then on the roof of the skyscraper. The height is worked out by the difference in the restoring force T = 2 pi sq. root (l /g)."
08:36 PM - Apr 29, 2024
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R H
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thread 10/11
"Or if the skyscraper has an outside emergency staircase, it would be easier to walk up it and mark off the height of the skyscraper in barometer lengths, then add them up."
08:36 PM - Apr 29, 2024
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R H
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thread 11/11
"If you merely wanted to be boring and orthodox about it, of course, you could use the barometer to measure the air pressure on the roof of the skyscraper and on the ground, and convert the difference in millibars into meters to give the height of the building."
08:38 PM - Apr 29, 2024
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Coherent Marketing
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In response to R H.
Simple question for skydivers, but the answers to this are gems 🤣
06:59 AM - Apr 30, 2024
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Jack Handy
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In response to R H.
My favorite was to tell the super you'd give him a free barometer if he told you how tall the building was.
08:38 PM - Apr 29, 2024
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