Trying to Express an Amount of Force

  • Thread starter John Sherman
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In summary, the amount of force required to lift an aircraft carrier, even if the ducted fans and related machinery weighed nothing, is over a billion Newtons. This is equivalent to the force exerted by 1.5 million people on the Earth's surface or the weight of a really big elephant. If the four engines could work in space, they could potentially propel an elephant to Alpha Centauri in 18 hours, but the high acceleration of 10,000g would not make for a comfortable journey. Overall, describing 1 billion Newtons as the force needed to lift an aircraft carrier is a good way to illustrate the immense amount of force needed.
  • #1
John Sherman
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So, I'm working on an article about the SHIELD Helicarrier. I determined that, even if the ducted fans and related machinery weighed nothing, it would still take over a billion Newtons to allow an aircraft carrier to hover. Is there any good way to describe how ridiculous that amount of force is?
 
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  • #2
It is equal to the force exerted by 1,457,725 (1.5 million) people on the Earth's surface for one thing. I'd say describing 1 billion Newtons as the force required to lift an aircraft carrier is a pretty solid description.
 
  • #3
I believe it's traditional in certain mainstream newspapers to convert it to the force exerted by a number of elephants standing on your foot...

..although I'm sure the vast majority of their readers have no idea what one elephant standing on your foot feels like.
 
  • #4
The force needed is just the Weight which, as stated above is just a bit less than 1billion Newtons, for a really big one.
 
  • #5
Let's assume the four engines actually do produce enough force to keep the carrier airborne. Also, let's pretend they can work in space as well as in air.
According to this handy calculator:
http://www.convertalot.com/relativistic_star_ship_calculator.html
were you to attach an elephant to these engines, it'd reach Alpha Centauri in 18 hours(elephant's time). It would have attained 0.9c in around an hour. The 10000g would probably not make for a pleasant journey though.
 

1. What is force?

Force is a physical quantity that describes the interaction between two objects. It can be defined as a push or pull that causes an object to accelerate or change its motion.

2. How is force measured?

Force is typically measured in units of Newtons (N) or pounds (lbs). The most common way to measure force is by using a spring scale or a force meter.

3. How can force be expressed?

Force can be expressed in different ways depending on the context. It can be expressed as a vector quantity, with both magnitude and direction, or as a scalar quantity, with only magnitude. It can also be expressed through equations, such as Newton's second law of motion (F=ma) or through diagrams, such as free body diagrams.

4. What are some common examples of force?

Some common examples of force include gravity, friction, tension, and normal force. For example, gravity is the force that pulls objects towards the center of the Earth, while friction is the force that opposes motion between two surfaces.

5. How does force impact motion?

Force is what causes an object to accelerate or change its motion. According to Newton's second law of motion, the acceleration of an object is directly proportional to the net force acting on it and inversely proportional to its mass. This means that the greater the force acting on an object, the greater its acceleration will be.

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