How Does Newton's Second Law Apply to a Bird Sitting on a Wire?

AI Thread Summary
When a bird of weight W sits on a stretched wire, the tension in the wire is not infinite, as the wire cannot be perfectly horizontal due to sagging. The tension must be greater than the weight of the bird to account for the wire's slight droop. This indicates that while the tension is significant, it is finite and influenced by the wire's properties and the weight of the bird. The discussion emphasizes the importance of considering real-world factors in physics problems. Thus, the tension in the wire is substantial but not infinite.
vkash
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Homework Statement



fill in the blanks.
when a bird of weight W sits on a stretched wire, The tension in the wire is__________

Homework Equations



Force(external)=mass*aceeleration

The Attempt at a Solution



tension should approach to infinity
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1jAxRY0XgAlTG_MBPJJXgmmoBuoqs8og73eew_j0wWmM/edit?hl=en_US
 
Last edited by a moderator:
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vkash said:

Homework Statement



fill in the blanks.
when a bird of weight W sits on a stretched wire, The tension in the wire is__________

Homework Equations



Force(external)=mass*aceeleration

The Attempt at a Solution



tension should approach to infinity
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1jAxRY0XgAlTG_MBPJJXgmmoBuoqs8og73eew_j0wWmM/edit?hl=en_US

What is your question / difficulty ?
 
Last edited by a moderator:
PeterO said:
What is your question / difficulty ?

is my answer correct.
My answer is infinity.
 
vkash said:
is my answer correct.
My answer is infinity.

Clearly it can't be. IF the wire was able to be exactly horizontal between the poles, the tension would be infinity - meaning the wire will never be completely horizontal: it will sag slightly [even without the bird]
The fact the wire droops only slightly means the tension is quite large - certainly greater than the weight of the bird.
 
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