force is the word I wished to use, and is the word I did use, because it is
accurate.

nice to see, mark, that an Art History major can learn how to google, but it
shows once again that a tiny bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing. Your
explanation is all over the place and shows you lack a basic understanding of
the issue. kinda sad, too, because it is not particularly difficult.

wanna tell us about the difference in style of mid 16th century Flemish oil
paintings as compared to early 17th century?

Jax,

How do broken ropes fly in JaxWorld?

Mark Browne

"for each force there is an equal and opposite force"

Jax,

You have demonstrated that the scientists on JaxWorld have heard statements
relating to Static's, but they are still struggling to learn what they mean.
Have the researchers on JaxWorld heard about the branch of mechanical
engineering known as Dynamics? If it would be helpful I can point you to
some nice engineering texts that might help you understand these strange new
concepts.

Until then, I can help you understand a little bit about these strange new
ideas.

In a state of STATIC balance, your statement would be true.
Just before the rope parted the entire towing force was transferred through
the rope. The rope obeys hooke's law, where the stress of the towing effort
results in strain in the rope. The rope strains in elastic deformation. I
know that this might be a little tough for you to follow, but in this
situation, the rope is a spring.

Our friends at google can help you learn about this Hooke's law thing:

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&i...ff&q=hooke%27s
+law&spell=1
Any one of the first ten links should do the job.

As the rope parts the static's view is no longer valid; we enter the new
land of ACCELERATION and MOTION.
The energy stored in the rope (as elastic deformation) is released when the
rope parts. This stored energy acts to accelerate the rope. The force stored
in the rope acts against the fixed support to accelerate the rope.
(Considering the relative mass of the boat and the rope, we can safely
ignore the effect on the boats for this discussion) The rope reaches is
maximum speed when the stored energy is fully converted to motion.

Back to your original message quoted above, you should have paid a little
more attention to your high school physics class.
I belive that the statement you where groping for was Newton's third law :

"For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction."

In subtle but important ways, this is different from the rule you offered.
If you wish learn more about the issue, this little primer may do the trick:
http://www.glenbrook.k12.il.us/gbssc...aws/u2l4a.html

Have a nice day,

Mark Browne