How much has the cable stretched?

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The discussion centers on calculating the stretch of a steel cable under tension while pulling a car out of a ditch. The cable measures 9.1 meters in length with a radius of 0.5 cm, and the tension applied is 890 N. The calculations utilize Young's modulus for steel (20E10 Pa) and the formula for elongation, resulting in a stretch of 5.2E-4 meters. The method and calculations presented are confirmed as correct by another forum participant.

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A truck is pulling a car out of a ditchwith a steel cable that is 9.1 meters long and has a radius of .5cm. When the car just begins to move the tension of the cable is 890N. How much has the cable stretched?
converted .5cm to .005m
area of the wire A = pie*r^2
Y = 20E10 (steel)
used the formula Change in L = F*orginal length/YA

Change in L = 890N*9.10m / 20E10* (pie*.005^2)

and got 5.2E-4 m

did i go about this correctly?

thanks joe
 
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Looks OK to me.
 
Originally posted by cowgiljl
A truck is pulling a car out of a ditchwith a steel cable that is 9.1 meters long and has a radius of .5cm. When the car just begins to move the tension of the cable is 890N. How much has the cable stretched?
converted .5cm to .005m
area of the wire A = pie*r^2
Y = 20E10 (steel)
used the formula Change in L = F*orginal length/YA

Change in L = 890N*9.10m / 20E10* (pie*.005^2)

and got 5.2E-4 m

did i go about this correctly?

thanks joe

Now, is this cable apple, or cherry pie?

I'm sorry I couldn't resist
 

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