Some brain teaser for the scientific-minded

[henry1]

It is "heavier" in that it has a greater gravitational pull on it, than the small one. The size is immaterial, it is the mass of the whole object that matters. The larger tile will have a greater mass, therefore gravity will affect it more.

Of course the bigger tile is heavier but so is its surface area, in fact 40,000 larger. So that's plenty of surface for the adhesive to grip on.

 

[denso13]

Of course the bigger tile is heavier but so is its surface area

Gravity is concerned with mass, area is irrelevant. I understand the initial question and the point you are making, but, if you can use grab adhesive to stick a 10mm² piece of plywood to a ceiling it doesn't mean you can do the same for a piece of unlimited size. It just doesn't work that way.

 

[MNW67]

Gravity is concerned with mass, area is irrelevant. I understand the initial question and the point you are making, but, if you can use grab adhesive to stick a 10mm² piece of plywood to a ceiling it doesn't mean you can do the same for a piece of unlimited size. It just doesn't work that way.

Why not? In theory anyway. As long as you completely cover the whole large piece of plywood with the same adhesive as the small piece, then it shouldn't matter. If the big piece is 10,000mm2, then the adhesive force will be 1000 times greater than the 10mm2 piece.

 

[henry1]

Gravity is concerned with mass, area is irrelevant. I understand the initial question and the point you are making, but, if you can use grab adhesive to stick a 10mm² piece of plywood to a ceiling it doesn't mean you can do the same for a piece of unlimited size. It just doesn't work that way.

Area is not relevant for gravity but it is relevant for the adhesive.
We all know it doesn't work that way and that the large tile will fall off but so far no one has been able to explain why.

 

[MNW67]

Area is not relevant for gravity but it is relevant for the adhesive.
We all know it doesn't work that way and that the large tile will fall off but so far no one has been able to explain why.

Maybe because a large thin object will flex.

 

[henry1]

Tile ain't gonna flex?

 

[Lirefighter]

What is the specific gravity of the tile?

 

[MNW67]

What is the specific gravity of the tile?

9.81m/s2

 

[henry1]

What is the specific gravity of the tile?

More than that of water. I don't know, I don't think it matters as it's the same for both tiles.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

Providing the adhesive is applied to the entire surface, it will scale up just fine. The only issue is that if an edge, begins to peel, that can drag the lot down, and so edge support might be needed, until the adhesive drys.

Compare it to wallpapering a ceiling...

A small piece of wallpaper will easily stick to a ceiling, a full length will be more difficult, because the ends will tend to unstick, and once the ends unstick, the lot comes back down.

 

[Lirefighter]

More than that of water. I don't know, I don't think it matters as it's the same for both tiles.

A generic tile then, ceramic/porcelain type of thing.
Not polystyrene.

 

[MNW67]

A generic tile then, ceramic/porcelain type of thing.
Not polystyrene.

About 2 according to Google.

 

[Mottie]

?

Did you not learn that in science lessons at school?

 

[MNW67]

Providing the adhesive is applied to the entire surface, it will scale up just fine. The only issue is that if an edge, begins to peel, that can drag the lot down, and so edge support might be needed, until the adhesive drys.

Compare it to wallpapering a ceiling...

A small piece of wallpaper will easily stick to a ceiling, a full length will be more difficult, because the ends will tend to unstick, and once the ends unstick, the lot comes back down.

So why do the ends unstick! Another science question. I have no idea.

 

[motorbiking]

It doesn't have to be linear or non-linear. The adhesive will only act where it is applied, so we could consider it acting only in its tiny 1 cm x 1 cm little square within the large tile. What the adhesive is doing in one corner doesn't affect the adhesive in the other corner as long as both are pulling their weight

The multiple small tiles do not transfer load to each other, the single tile covering the same area does. This can affect the adhesion due to deformation.

The Book | Practical Adhesion Science | Prof Steven Abbott

Sticking Together and also Adhesion Science: Principles and Practice by Prof Steven Abbott

www.stevenabbott.co.uk

This guy seems to know his stuff, not that I understood much of it.