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Topic Date User

Rope - static v dynamic for top-roping and leading 30-Jan-2012 At 12:06:52 PM Dan Theman

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On 25/01/2012 One Day Hero wrote:

>
>Oh yeah, I forgot about this one. Mr. engineer seems to think that a dynamic
>rope can 'absorb force'.......like you pull on one end, and the other end
>doesn't feel all the force 'cause its absorbed by the rope somehow!?!?
>Isaac Newton had a thing or two to say on that topic.

You didn't really think this one through did you? What happens when you fall? The rope absorbs the part of the force (like an elastic band), storing the energy. The rest goes to the belayers end. The rope then releases the energy as you and/or your belayer bounce back up a bit (i.e. the energy is used to pull you up). If the belayers end if fixed (as it would be if the rope was stuck) then all the energy is transmitted back to you. So no, not all the force goes to the stuck end, as it is stored by the rope and released as you stop pulling.

Yeah Isaac Newton was always talking about climbing ropes and how they don't absorb force. I guess that's why he invented calculus yeah? Maybe it wasn't an apple that dropped on his head, but a rock when he was out cragging!