wkp@lanl.ARPA (05/19/85)
Regarding "astral projection" and planetary travel by the spirit, Eliyahu Teitz writes in article <1595@aecom.UUCP>: > This is especially true when it comes to the martial arts. I > have seen, with my very own eyes, and with the eyes of several hundred > men, along with many others, people perform what is called a > soft break...I have seen this done many times. By all laws of physics > the tap is not enough force to break the block. Yet, it breaks. > The blocks were not tampered with, as I bought them myself and brought > them to the exhibition. > If we do not believe in some other forces, aside from normal physics, > it would be very difficult, if not impossible, to explain the breaking of > the cinder block. Anyone have any explainations? [TEITZ] Yes. Try reading your old physics textbooks. Especially the sections on impulsive forces. A very large transfer of momentum can be accomplished by applied forces even if the time interval is very small. Moreover, the critical quantity here is not force, but pressure. Material pressures can be infinitely large provided the area of stress is arbitrarily small. This phenomena is well understood. It is also very common. Eliyahu, I know you made an innocent mistake, but please don't claim ordinary natural phenomena to be due to the magical powers of martial arts experts. It weakens your arguments, and is very embarassing. -- bill peter ihnp4!lanl!wkp