[TheForge] Re:Mass vs. acceleration vs. soil (A Novel)

[Marc Godbout]

Thanks, Tom, for that great explanation. This also goes part way to
explaining the other problem in this thread - the age old lighter,
faster hammer vs slower, heavier hammer problem. I think I've got that
one figured out:

The next part of the problem concerns elasticity. If that bowling ball
and mallet were really made of tool steel, the mallet would bounce back
like the superball effect when my hammer misses the work and hits the
anvil. In an elastic condition, the anvil will not absorb very much
energy and will reflect it back to the hammer.

The thing a heavier hammer adds to its effectiveness is inertia. When I
hit that hot piece of steel with the hammer, it accelerates toward the
anvil, which then reflects that energy back to the piece. The piece then
accelerates toward the hammer. Now, a bigger hammer takes more energy to
move, so it will tend to reflect most of whatever energy is left into
the piece.

Anyhow, that's how it makes sense to me.

-Marc

On Sun, 2003-10-19 at 11:42, Thomas A. Troszak wrote:

> Dear Peter and Phoebe and Mike,
> 
> The solution is very simple, but perhaps not simple to explain why. There
> are two distinctly different things happening here, what is going on in the
> hammer, and what is going on in the soil.

-- 
Marc Godbout
http://www.ironringforge.com

New England Blacksmiths Membership Director
http://www.newenglandblacksmiths.org