Presumably the longest three inches in the universe is the distance across the event horizon of a black hole. If one ship was just this side of it and the other just the other side they would be completely and irrevocably out of communication with each other, presuming the first ship could stay away from the horizon.
Aside from that, the 'longest three inches' is the distance between you and the bolt you need that just fell down inside your motorcycle. You know it's there. You know, as a matter of physics, that it can't be more than three inches away. But finding it -- ah! Two hours went by taking apart everything I could easily disassemble and reassemble in that time. I ran a magnet all over everything, rocked the bike back and forth, and rolled it forward and back. Nothing.
I finally just found another bolt of the same diameter and cut it with a Dremel to fit the length.
11 comments:
1) You sure the bolt didn't actually fall to the ground and roll somewhere, and it's not actually inside your motorcycle?
2) Given that it's inside your motorcycle, how sure are you it's in an innocuous place where all it'll do is rattle, and it won't do damage?
Eric Hines
Incidentally, the two ships will be three inches apart only briefly, and possibly only once (even aside from survivability): they have different orbital velocities.
They'd have to talk fast, if they could talk at all. Black Hole Auctioneers.
Eric Hines
The answer to both questions is that I have no idea where it is or even could be. It's not anywhere I could reach or find in two hours of disassembly and reassembly. It doesn't rattle, it doesn't make noise, it doesn't offer any indication whatever of being in the same universe.
Dad built aircraft engines at Pratt and Whitney. All nuts, bolts and parts were accounted for. If one was lost, the engine came apart till it was found. Conversely, if a extra bolt was left over, the engine came apart to install it.
There are many entertaining places a bolt can go. for example, it could get stuck in some grease build up inside the countershaft sprocket cover, only to fall and wedge itself between chain and sprocket, breaking the aluminum case as the chain tension increases.
I assume you did not have the crankcase open during the bolt loss or there would be a bit more angst apparent in your post...
Well, maybe there was a tiny little black hole ...
More realistically, it's probably with all the half-pairs of socks people have lost.
No, nothing like that, Raven.
I'm sure a policy very much like the one you describe held at my late father-in-law's works at Allison Engine. It's a wise policy for engineers.
I, however, am a shade tree mechanic at best. I'm going to bounce the bike down my long, hilly, rocky dirt driveway. Then I'll drive it to the closest car wash and hit the undercarriage thoroughly with a pressure washer. If it doesn't bounce out in the driveway, or wash out under the pressure washer, it's probably securely seated wherever it is.
Grim, you accidentally found Schroedinger's Bolt. It is in and not in your motorcycle at this very moment. :)
LittleRed1
A friend used to say that socks were the larval form of coathangers. I'm not sure what bolts turn into.
Grim I would make sure that the bolt you replaced isn't required to be case-hardened to a specific strength. It would be more than three inches were that replacement bolt to shear off whilst you were riding.
Thanks for the thought, Sly, but in this case it's just a battery terminal bolt. It isn't bearing any weight, just holding the cable to the battery.
Blogger Texan99 said...
A friend used to say that socks were the larval form of coathangers. I'm not sure what bolts turn into.
Usually they turn into flat tires.
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