Re: Why does measuring tape bend one way?

From: Edward Green (spamspamspam3_at_netzero.com)
Date: 02/06/05 

Date: 5 Feb 2005 21:59:40 -0800

Philip Holman wrote:

> <lemo5@optonline.net> wrote in message
> news:1107556196.242127.97910@g14g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
> > For those who do not understand the question,
> >
> > Bending it backwards creates compression on the center and tension
on
> > the sides, and bending it forwards creates tension on the center
and
> > compression on the sides, so why is the center more susceptible to
> > tension, and why are the sides more susceptible to compression?
> >
> Its all about the unsupported free edges. These are far less stable
in
> compression than in tension.

I don't know if that's the right answer, but it's the only one which
even sounds like it might be an explanation about about the right level
of detail. Those who just said "cylindrical curvacture", for example,
neglected to explain why this section of a cylinder would bend more
easily in one direction than the other -- the whole cylinder doesn't
have that problem.

You can see this behavior merely by giving a bend to a sheet of paper
along the long axis and attempting to bend it either way along the
short axis -- one of those things which seems "intuitive" merely from
experience, but now that I look at it, I can't really explain or
understand it.

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