Watching a show about astronomy/physics several years ago, I heard a little tidbit about gravity that stuck in my head. Gravity is not limited to the speed of light; it acts instantaneously across the vastness of space. Scientists figured out that if gravity "traveled" there would be slippage in orbits, allowing them to fall apart. I liken it to a chain drive rather than a flat belt, which always has some "creep" around the wheels. What brought this all to mind was a recent local news story about a poor fellow whose "jack malfunctioned, dropping the car on him." He survived, and I figure he has learned his lesson. The truth about jacks is that they are only meant to lift your car, not hold it. If the car comes back down on the jack's schedule instead of yours, it is your fault. Buy a set of jack stands for your car if you plan to work on it, and don't get under the car until you have them set firmly in place. If you need to lift both ends of the car off the ground, additional blocking should be set under the wheels to insure that the car is well stabilized. Gravity: It never malfunctions, so be safe out there!Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Faster Than The Speed Of Light
Watching a show about astronomy/physics several years ago, I heard a little tidbit about gravity that stuck in my head. Gravity is not limited to the speed of light; it acts instantaneously across the vastness of space. Scientists figured out that if gravity "traveled" there would be slippage in orbits, allowing them to fall apart. I liken it to a chain drive rather than a flat belt, which always has some "creep" around the wheels. What brought this all to mind was a recent local news story about a poor fellow whose "jack malfunctioned, dropping the car on him." He survived, and I figure he has learned his lesson. The truth about jacks is that they are only meant to lift your car, not hold it. If the car comes back down on the jack's schedule instead of yours, it is your fault. Buy a set of jack stands for your car if you plan to work on it, and don't get under the car until you have them set firmly in place. If you need to lift both ends of the car off the ground, additional blocking should be set under the wheels to insure that the car is well stabilized. Gravity: It never malfunctions, so be safe out there!
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2 comments:
Hmm. Never thought about blocking the wheels. Husband always uses 4 jackstands to raise all 4 corners and then tries to rock the vehicle.
Four jack stands is probably safe enough, but I figure that it is OK to be a bit obsessive about having a stable load when you are spending time under it.
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