I just assumed this works without even questioning it. ^^ Can you explain more concretely what you did? When I simulate this in my mind, I’m able to pull the rope sideways as long as there are less than three people pulling the rope at each side. They are also not allowed to counteract my pulling more than they would by default without my pulling, right?
We had two teams of 6 people (so 12 total) do a tug o war, and found that one team seemed slightly stronger than the other, but not strong enough to win immediately, it looked like there was at least 5-10 seconds of stasis.
Then we had a 13th person stand in the middle and pull the rope so as to help the weaker team. We didn’t go long enough to actually conclude the game, but it was looking like this made the difference between victory and defeat—the previously-weaker side now seemed stronger thanks to the additional person.
Then we did one last game, and this time the 13th person pulled sideways. They were able to cause the rope to bend a little bit, but only a little bit, and after a while they gave up. They weren’t able to make the rope/lines-of-people shift sideways to any noticeable degree, much less make them all lose their balance and fall over as several people suspected would happen.
I think the reason it doesn’t work is because a tug of war is not so much about the force vectors being added together, (if it was then pulling sideways would be effective). I think it is more about which side’s members are lighter or have worse shoes, and therefore slip. If you have 1 person pulling sideways (+y direction), and another 5 each pulling in the +x and -x directions respectively, then (ignoring the x direction), we have a force (it doesn’t matter who is exerting the force) pulling 1 person in the -y direction and 10 in the +y direction. Which group is going to slide first? (The 1 person I think). And when they do you just have the other 10 not having moved (the static friction was never overcome), and 1 person who has moved closer to the rope/everyone else, but has not moved them at all.
If tug of war was about the force vectors being added together, pulling sideways should be equally effective to pulling in any other direction, I think. (Imagine the rope is under so much tension from the preexisting pullers that you can model it as a steel bar. Further imagine that you are on a frictionless plane and everyone is exerting force via rocket thrusters. Your own little thruster will slowly accelerate the whole system equally fast in whichever direction you pick.)
I just assumed this works without even questioning it. ^^ Can you explain more concretely what you did? When I simulate this in my mind, I’m able to pull the rope sideways as long as there are less than three people pulling the rope at each side. They are also not allowed to counteract my pulling more than they would by default without my pulling, right?
We had two teams of 6 people (so 12 total) do a tug o war, and found that one team seemed slightly stronger than the other, but not strong enough to win immediately, it looked like there was at least 5-10 seconds of stasis.
Then we had a 13th person stand in the middle and pull the rope so as to help the weaker team. We didn’t go long enough to actually conclude the game, but it was looking like this made the difference between victory and defeat—the previously-weaker side now seemed stronger thanks to the additional person.
Then we did one last game, and this time the 13th person pulled sideways. They were able to cause the rope to bend a little bit, but only a little bit, and after a while they gave up. They weren’t able to make the rope/lines-of-people shift sideways to any noticeable degree, much less make them all lose their balance and fall over as several people suspected would happen.
I think the reason it doesn’t work is because a tug of war is not so much about the force vectors being added together, (if it was then pulling sideways would be effective). I think it is more about which side’s members are lighter or have worse shoes, and therefore slip. If you have 1 person pulling sideways (+y direction), and another 5 each pulling in the +x and -x directions respectively, then (ignoring the x direction), we have a force (it doesn’t matter who is exerting the force) pulling 1 person in the -y direction and 10 in the +y direction. Which group is going to slide first? (The 1 person I think). And when they do you just have the other 10 not having moved (the static friction was never overcome), and 1 person who has moved closer to the rope/everyone else, but has not moved them at all.
If tug of war was about the force vectors being added together, pulling sideways should be equally effective to pulling in any other direction, I think. (Imagine the rope is under so much tension from the preexisting pullers that you can model it as a steel bar. Further imagine that you are on a frictionless plane and everyone is exerting force via rocket thrusters. Your own little thruster will slowly accelerate the whole system equally fast in whichever direction you pick.)