A Rope, Two Telephone Poles... and Some Confounding Math
RAY: There are two telephone poles. Each one is 100-feet tall. They are parallel and an unknown distance apart.
We're going to attach a 150-foot rope from the very top of one of the poles to the top of the other. This rope will, of course, droop down somewhat. That drooping rope is called a catanary, from the Latin word for chain.
The question is: What must be the distance between the two poles, so that the lowest point of the catanary is 25-feet above the ground?
Think you know? Drop Ray a note!
[ Car Talk Puzzler ]
