Physics question about a superpower

[TheMonotonePuppet]

You have a rope. You have a harness for a rock. And you have a rock.

You have the ability to push and/or pull on only the harness and the rope with your mind (we are assuming this rope and this harness are indestructible).


Keep in mind...

1. This stays in an environment where all other variables - other than the location of the force applied to the rope and the harness - are constant.
2. You can only push and/or pull on only the harness and rope. And you can only do this while you are spinning them.
3. The amount of force you can generate with your mind to push and/or pull is finite.
4. If you figured out the perfect way to swing this rope, harness, and rock in a circle via pushing and pulling with your mind, the highest it will slingshot is 100 feet. Your goal is to reach that high value of 100 feet.
5. I don't want any other application. All that matters is The goal.
6. Try not to let your imagination take this simple scenario to outlandish scenarios, like outer space, rocks the size of houses, a force capable of launching the rock to supersonic speeds, etc. None of that. Please.

The goal? Wheel the rock in a circle like you're a bootleg Thor swinging Mjolnir, and toss it up as high as possible with the force generated by your mind. How would you apply the limited options you have to do so?

 

[RepresentingWrath]

@TheEldritchGod

 

[TheMonotonePuppet]

@TheEldritchGod

Hah! I was thinking of him too! If anyone was going to be able to crap on abilities with more exploits than God, it would be the DnD-obsessed deity.

 

[RepresentingWrath]

Hah! I was thinking of him too! If anyone was going to be able to crap on abilities with more exploits than God, it would be the DnD-obsessed deity.

 

[Jemini]

You have a rope. You have a harness for a rock. And you have a rock.

The goal? Wheel the rock in a circle like a bootleg Thor, and toss it up as high as possible with the force generated.

You have the ability to push and/or pull on the harness and the rope with your mind (we are assuming this rope is indestructible).

The amount of force you can generate with your mind is limited, so you want to maximize how you distribute force.

Please help. I suck at this. (P.S. If you have physics-breaking exploits, please describe them in detail so that I may patch them/elaborate on the limits of the power. Or if you need clarifications, because I'm dumb and missed something, please describe your complaint in detail)

Ok, I feel like you brought us into this situation without properly explaining the power at all. Or, your order of explanation is just weird.

How about you start over by explaining exactly what your character's power is, and then after that's well explained you can describe what you're trying to do with it.

 

[TheMonotonePuppet]

Ok, I feel like you brought us into this situation without properly explaining the power at all. Or, your order of explanation is just weird.

How about you start over by explaining exactly what your character's power is, and then after that's well explained you can describe what you're trying to do with it.

I personally don't feel like it is so poorly explained that I need to start over and explain exactly what my character's power is, and then on top of that, describe what I'm trying to do with it (because the goal is extremely clear).

So what variables are you missing that you feel are relevant? I need specifics.

 

[cabbag3]

You have a rope. You have a harness for a rock. And you have a rock.

The goal? Wheel the rock in a circle like you're a bootleg Thor swinging Mjolnir, and toss it up as high as possible with the force generated.

You have the ability to push and/or pull on the harness and the rope with your mind (we are assuming this rope is indestructible).

The amount of force you can generate with your mind is limited, so you want to maximize how you distribute force.

Please help. I suck at this. (P.S. If you have physics-breaking exploits, please describe them in detail so that I may patch them/elaborate on the limits of the power. Or if you need clarifications, because I'm dumb and missed something, please describe your complaint in detail)

So like, you want to increase the spin of your rope-tied-to-a-rock thingy so you could hurl it further? Assuming this rope is indestructible and/or extends infinitely?
And you plan on using your very limited telekinetic control on the rope to increase the thingy's spin?
Idk man. You sure got unlucky in whatever Superpower Lottery that is. hahaha. Get stronger arms.

 

[melchi]

How much does the rock weigh?

How much force can the ability produce?

What is the acceleration due to gravity?

What is the air pressure?

How much does the rope weigh per unit of length?

 

[Deleted member 148356]

Force has pressure pulling it back for example air, weight and gravity.
If you remove it then the rock will fling to oblivion like a meteor.
Oh wait instead of pulling back the power might as well support it.
The air will push it, the gravity will pull it... tada~ you get lightning speed.

But I fail my Physics, don't trust my judgement.

 

[TheMonotonePuppet]

How much does the rock weigh?

How much force can the ability produce?

I don't understand why this is relevant. From a mathematically abstract point of view, no matter how one scales it, it shouldn't matter.

I want to know "where" the force should be placed for maximum swing with all other variables held constant. Should it be placed on the rope? Should it be placed on the harness? Should the front half have half of the indeterminate amount of force pulling it along, and have this half evenly distributed over its surface, and the back half have the other half of the indeterminate amount of force pushing it along?

But I'll add it in.

Edit: Actually, wait. The rock's weight and the force it can produce really don't matter. Adding the weight of the rock and the force the ability can produce genuinely doesn't matter, so that's just cluttering up the post. *Squinty eyes*
Edit-edit: But I can put an upper limit on what the force can achieve so it doesn't get too absurd, like outer space or anywhere near supersonic.

 

[melchi]

I don't understand why this is relevant. From a mathematically abstract point of view, no matter how one scales it, it shouldn't matter.

I want to know "where" the force should be placed for maximum swing with all other variables held constant. Should it be placed on the rope? Should it be placed on the harness? Should the front half have half of the indeterminate amount of force pulling it along, and have this half evenly distributed over its surface, and the back half have the other half of the indeterminate amount of force pushing it along?

But I'll add it in.

It is extremely relevant. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angular_momentum

Without drag the force will keep increasing the velocity forever. Remember F = MA (mass times acceleration) So for a constant F velocity will continue to increase unless an opposite force acts upon it.

In atmosphere that would be terminal velocity.

If the force generated by the super power is say 1 N well on earth that is not enough to counter gravity for a 1kg mass.

 

[cabbag3]

I don't understand why this is relevant. From a mathematically abstract point of view, no matter how one scales it, it shouldn't matter.

I want to know "where" the force should be placed for maximum swing with all other variables held constant. Should it be placed on the rope? Should it be placed on the harness? Should the front half have half of the indeterminate amount of force pulling it along, and have this half evenly distributed over its surface, and the back half have the other half of the indeterminate amount of force pushing it along?

But I'll add it in.

Edit: Actually, wait. The rock's weight and the force it can produce really don't matter. Adding the weight of the rock and the force the ability can produce genuinely doesn't matter, so that's just cluttering up the post. *Squinty eyes*
Edit-edit: But I can put an upper limit on what the force can achieve so it doesn't get too absurd, like outer space or anywhere near supersonic.

Yeah you're right. Those factors aren't really relevant.
Since this is like a sling (the one in the David vs Goliath story), rotating faster doesn't really increases the potency of the throw.

Where to add the force: On the rock, unless you wanna stick to your rope control.
When to add the force: I think it's probably better to add it by the time you throw it or idk, use it to nudge forward or back to guide the rock's accuracy.

 

[Jemini]

I personally don't feel like it is so poorly explained that I need to start over and explain exactly what my character's power is, and then on top of that, describe what I'm trying to do with it (because the goal is extremely clear).

So what variables are you missing that you feel are relevant? I need specifics.

What are their powers in leu of the rock and the rope? Because just psykokinetically manipulating a rock and a rope seems extremely and weirdly overly specific.

I'm saying what is the actual power by itself, without the rock and rope in the picture. Then, introduce the goal separately. Because if the power is only manipulating the rock and rope, then how did a strangely specific power like that come about?

The details you've said so far is they have a rock, a rope, the ability to spin it, and the ability to manipulate it psycokinetically. And you're trying to find applications of it.

Well, with a strangely hyper-specific power like that, the only application of the power is exactly what you've already told us. We need to know what the real base power under the hood is before we can start really working on applications.

 

[TheMonotonePuppet]

It is extremely relevant. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angular_momentum

Without drag the force will keep increasing the velocity forever. Remember F = MA (mass times acceleration) So for a constant F velocity will continue to increase unless an opposite force acts upon it.

In atmosphere that would be terminal velocity.

If the force generated by the super power is say 1 N well on earth that is not enough to counter gravity for a 1kg mass.

I do not need the exact height. I wish to maximize the height it can possibly reach by performing the exact action labeled in the goal.

So, to clarify, drag exists. Gravity exists.

The hypothetical maximum (that you can reach with the unknown mass of the rock, harness, and rope, with the unknown amount of force you can generate, and the unknown force you can generate at the base of the thread with your arms) is a 100 feet.

You can only act upon this harness and rope, not the rock. And you can only act upon the harness and rope while you are swinging them.

You are overcomplicating this by far, but I hope this helps.

What are their powers in leu of the rock and the rope? Because just psykokinetically manipulating a rock and a rope seems extremely and weirdly overly specific.

You can only manipulate the rope and the harness, not the rock.
And I know it is weird and overly specific, but you don't actually need to know why it is overly specific. This is a model, not an exact rendition of reality.
Even if your curiosity is burning, alas, you must go without knowing.

I'm saying what is the actual power by itself, without the rock and rope in the picture. Then, introduce the goal separately. Because if the power is only manipulating the rock and rope, then how did a strangely specific power like that come about?

Again, you don't need to know how it came about.

The details you've said so far is they have a rock, a rope, the ability to spin it, and the ability to manipulate it psycokinetically. And you're trying to find applications of it.

Exactly. These are all of the necessary details you need to know. And to contradict you, I am NOT trying to find applications. I am trying to maximize this singular application (that singular application being spinning a rock and getting it as high as possible).

Well, with a strangely hyper-specific power like that, the only application of the power is exactly what you've already told us. We need to know what the real base power under the hood is before we can start really working on applications.

So yeah. You misinterpreted the intention of the post.

Hope that helps! Thank you for clarifying the specifics of what confused! It helped me understand how to respond!

Edit: I will edit my post to ensure that there is not confusion!

 

[Plantorsomething]

So ba

You have a rope. You have a harness for a rock. And you have a rock.

The goal? Wheel the rock in a circle like you're a bootleg Thor swinging Mjolnir, and toss it up as high as possible with the force generated.

You have the ability to push and/or pull on the harness and the rope with your mind (we are assuming this rope is indestructible).

The amount of force you can generate with your mind is limited, so you want to maximize how you distribute force. The force you generate with your mind, if used in this spinning action with perfect efficiency, will make the rock have a max height of 100 feet.

Please help. I suck at this. (P.S. If you have physics-breaking exploits, please describe them in detail so that I may patch them/elaborate on the limits of the power. Or if you need clarifications, because I'm dumb and missed something, please describe your complaint in detail)

So basically you want somephysics breaking to make it go higher than regular spin. Well you could use telikenisis maybe to make the rope wrap around an invisible rod while keeping it spinning at the same velocity. The closer it gets to the rod, the faster it will spin, and then release it upward. Watch Animation vs Physics, this principle is one of the first tricks they do. The closer you spin The faster you spin.

 

[greyblob]

rock harness?? like a slingshot?

 

[TheMonotonePuppet]

So ba

So basically you want somephysics breaking to make it go higher than regular spin. Well you could use telikenisis maybe to make the rope wrap around an invisible rod while keeping it spinning at the same velocity. The closer it gets to the rod, the faster it will spin, and then release it upward. Watch Animation vs Physics, this principle is one of the first tricks they do. The closer you spin The faster you spin.

Now this is cool!!!! Exactly what I'm looking for! Thanks! I'm not sure how to create an invisible rod with pushing and pulling, but I might be able to figure that later! Thank ya, thank ya!

 

[RepresentingWrath]

rock harness?? like a slingshot?

No-no, like a bdsm suit made from straps. This rock is kinky.

 

[TheMonotonePuppet]

rock harness?? like a slingshot?

@greyblob yup!

 

[greyblob]

1- wrap rope around the rock (but not the harness). now you can control the covered rock compeltly. rotate the rock and unleash + giving it a last push with your powers.

2- no mention of range so throw rock in the air and pull the rope towards the harness, rope goes flying, then pull the harness towards the rope. harness goess up, repeat