Nintendodojo tests the Wii strap

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The testing method was bullshit.You can exert way more than 25lbs when swinging it. And he still broke it in the end.
 
A three pound object can force the strain of a 30 pound object if swung hard enough.

It's a crap test. Now I know what to do with my old Wii straps: hang a plant.

But I won't swing that plant.
 
Impulse and acceleration are also a big part of this. Sure the Wiimote is light, but take it from rest to a fast serve in a fraction of a second, and back to rest (strap tensing) and you're putting a substantial force on that thing.

Newtonian physics FTW.
 
No way in hell that was 25pounds of books, my entire bookbag(bigger then most) filled with as many books as I can fit in there is only 25-30 pounds, a 25-30pound weight would snap the strap in a second.
 
MrBojangels said:
a 25-30pound weight would snap the strap in a second.
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Not necessarily. If books were gently placed hanging from the strap one by one, you'd be amazed at how much strain that strap could take.
 
Rocketpig said:
Not necessarily. If books were gently placed hanging from the strap one by one, you'd be amazed at how much strain that strap could take.
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Yeah, it depends a lot on how they were placed. Just like if you rest a book on your foot, then drop the same book on your foot from a couple feet up, there's a big difference on the amount of force you'll feel.
 
I can build a bridge out of balsa wood (very weak) that will support 25 pounds easily. If I drop a small paperback book onto it from a couple feet it will snap the thing in two though.

Impulse, as mentioned earlier, is a very powerful force. That and wear and tear. The strap doesn't break all the time, but it was thin enough at that point where it wasn't holding up in enough cases. Something as cheap as the strap should not be a big deal, and should be engineered to be stronger than needed in all extreme cases by a good margin.
 
Rocketpig said:
A three pound object can force the strain of a 30 pound object if swung hard enough.
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two things about that:

1. if you're correct, then the strap would never break, as the wii mote is less than 3 pounds

2. you're actually wrong. If swung "hard enough," a 3 pound object can exert limitless force on its attachment point. the amount of force the swung object exerts is not limited by its weight, but its velocity, which is limited only by the speed of light.

if you're talking about human strength, then we have to go into oscillation calculations and force/cross sectional muscle area on a person-person basis.
 
FoolOnTheHill said:
Impulse and acceleration are also a big part of this. Sure the Wiimote is light, but take it from rest to a fast serve in a fraction of a second, and back to rest (strap tensing) and you're putting a substantial force on that thing.

Newtonian physics FTW.
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Haha, I don't care how strong that wrist strap is.

Andy Roddick could snap it on a first serve.
 
Charles said:
two things about that:

1. if you're correct, then the strap would never break, as the wii mote is less than 3 pounds

2. you're actually wrong. If swung "hard enough," a 3 pound object can exert limitless force on its attachment point. the amount of force the swung object exerts is not limited by its weight, but its velocity, which is limited only by the speed of light.

if you're talking about human strength, then we have to go into oscillation calculations and force/cross sectional muscle area on a person-person basis.
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1. He is correct, but he's not saying that a 3 pounds is the absolute minimum for an object to break a Wii strap. He's making the point that a smaller mass can exert a great force given the proper acceleration. He could have said 3 grams and the point would still be valid.

2. Again, he is correct, and so are you on this point, mostly. If you're talking about centripetal force, then velocity is the key, which is limited by the speed of light, but what we're really talking about here is acceleration. When the remote wants to continue on the given path, but rapidly decelerates when the strap tenses (lets assume your wrist is a ridgid point), this rapid acceleration causes a great force, which is linearly related to the magnitude of the mass. F=ma. Again, this could be 3 grams, 3 kilograms, or 3 metric tons. Doesn't matter.

While your last statement is true, IMO, it's immaterial to this discussion, because any reasonably healthy adolescent or older is capable of the accelerations needed to break the wrist straps. You don't need to go through all that trouble.

Again I say, Newtownian physics FTW. ;)
 
1. if you're correct, then the strap would never break, as the wii mote is less than 3 pounds
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I wouldn't "never" break, it would take (3lbs/weight of remote) times the speed of a swing to make 30lbs. And 30lbs still wouldn't break it, as we've seen.
2. you're actually wrong. If swung "hard enough," a 3 pound object can exert limitless force on its attachment point. the amount of force the swung object exerts is not limited by its weight, but its velocity, which is limited only by the speed of light.
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Irrelevant.
if you're talking about human strength, then we have to go into oscillation calculations and force/cross sectional muscle area on a person-person basis.
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Stop spouting irrelevant bullshit to make yourself appear smart.
 
pr0pensity said:
*snip*

Stop spouting irrelevant bullshit to make yourself appear smart.
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And please don't insult someone's post to make yourself feel better. If you disagree, do what I did and back up your claims with facts and theory. Please see above.
 
Charles said:
two things about that:

1. if you're correct, then the strap would never break, as the wii mote is less than 3 pounds

2. you're actually wrong. If swung "hard enough," a 3 pound object can exert limitless force on its attachment point. the amount of force the swung object exerts is not limited by its weight, but its velocity, which is limited only by the speed of light.

if you're talking about human strength, then we have to go into oscillation calculations and force/cross sectional muscle area on a person-person basis.
Click to expand...

As others pointed out, 3 lbs. was just an example. The principle holds true no matter what the weight of the object is.

You're arguing for the argument's sake. It appears as if you were the only one who didn't understand that I was speaking in abstracts since I wasn't about to weigh the WiiMote and apply an average human's arm strength to figure out the exact numbers.

As someone else mentioned, Newton's laws are the bomb, yo.
 
Force = (mass * velocity^2)/2

Period.

A small mass moving faster than a large mass, will exert more force. What's with everyone trying to overly complicate this?

*edit* Forgot the divided by two. doh! :eek:
 
Doward said:
Force = mass * velocity^2

Period.

A small mass moving faster than a large mass, will exert more force. What's with everyone trying to overly complicate this?
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Force is equal to mass time acceleration. A steadily moving object (constant velocity) doesn't have "force," it has momentum. The actual force comes from the change in velocity over time (dv/dt). So yeah, given equal masses in two different objects, the faster moving object will impart more force upon collision than the slower one, but that's due to the greater acceleration upon impact. The same can also be true of a smaller mass traveling faster than a slower mass. But the force is from acceleration of the mass, not its velocity.
 
Who cares? Just get another one. :eek: And stop making things overly complicated for no reason! :rolleyes:
 
I am also an engineering student and making simple things complicated is not the way to go. ;)
 
people losing grip of their wii-motes and breaking things are simply stupid. It's really not that hard to use it correctly.

I guess Nintendo had too much confidence in the intelligence of the American people.
 
Doward said:
Force = mass * velocity^2

Period.

A small mass moving faster than a large mass, will exert more force. What's with everyone trying to overly complicate this?
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As someone else pointed out, F = ma, or F = mass * velocity / time, or F = mass * distance / time / time.

F = mass * velocity^2 would be F = mass * distance * distance / time / time

That extra distance in the calculation is very important. Velocity, specifically, does not correspond to force in any way. The force exerted on a body is exactly equal to the product of its mass and its current rate of acceleration. Period.

Anyway, a small mass moving faster than a larger mass may or may not exert more force when decelerating. All other parameters being equal, it depends on how much faster it's moving.
 
kumquat said:
As someone else pointed out, F = ma, or F = mass * velocity / time, or F = mass * distance / time / time.

F = mass * velocity^2 would be F = mass * distance * distance / time / time

That extra distance in the calculation is very important. Velocity, specifically, does not correspond to force in any way. The force exerted on a body is exactly equal to the product of its mass and its current rate of acceleration. Period.

Anyway, a small mass moving faster than a larger mass may or may not exert more force when decelerating. All other parameters being equal, it depends on how much faster it's moving.
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I was thinking the kinetic energy in it - (mv^2)/2

AH! the divided by 2 didn't show up. It's 1/2 * mass * velocity squared = kinetic force

Figuring that the energy of the wiimote in motion is transfered to tensile force into the strap - I'm way more interested in how much energy the strap will take before snapping.

They break due to the instantaneous force applied at the moment of acceleration change (from start to stop, or stop to start).

Similar to the stress connecting rods are put under in an engine. At least, to my way of thinking :) ymmv!
 
XSNiper said:
I am also an engineering student and making simple things complicated is not the way to go. ;)
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Touche. :D But I swear, I was just trying to get it down to F=ma. I wasn't gonna use my right hand or any rules related to it, honest. ;)
 
yep id agree with that...

its that instantaneous moment that counts really...the amount of weight as the experiment showed is irrelevant

and stress/strain or youngs modulus is also irrelevant...

to my understanding
 
FoolOnTheHill said:
Touche. :D But I swear, I was just trying to get it down to F=ma. I wasn't gonna use my right hand or any rules related to it, honest. ;)
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Liar! (Engineering student here, as well!) :D
 
Doward said:
I was thinking the kinetic energy in it - (mv^2)/2

AH! the divided by 2 didn't show up. It's 1/2 * mass * velocity squared = kinetic force

Figuring that the energy of the wiimote in motion is transfered to tensile force into the strap - I'm way more interested in how much energy the strap will take before snapping.

They break due to the instantaneous force applied at the moment of acceleration change (from start to stop, or stop to start).

Similar to the stress connecting rods are put under in an engine. At least, to my way of thinking :) ymmv!
Click to expand...

Yeah, I also noticed the similarity to the kinetic energy equation (E = 1/2*mv^2). Buuuuut.... Force != Energy. Be very careful about how you compare/transform the two.
 
FoolOnTheHill said:
Yeah, I also noticed the similarity to the kinetic energy equation (E = 1/2*mv^2). Buuuuut.... Force != Energy. Be very careful about how you compare/transform the two.
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Very true. ;)
 
The first thing I would do with my new wII is take off that fruity strap. Even with out a glove, golf clubs never fly from my hands. I have run with scissors many many times with out incident. I have experience holding things, even sweaty things.

Like I said before I still think the strap fallout is actually marketing hype.
 
Charles said:
Haha, I don't care how strong that wrist strap is.

Andy Roddick could snap it on a first serve.
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So that is why he is constantly throwing his racket at the opponent... well *duh* I am so stupid for not realizing that earlier.
 
Doward said:
I was thinking the kinetic energy in it - (mv^2)/2

AH! the divided by 2 didn't show up. It's 1/2 * mass * velocity squared = kinetic force

Figuring that the energy of the wiimote in motion is transfered to tensile force into the strap - I'm way more interested in how much energy the strap will take before snapping.

They break due to the instantaneous force applied at the moment of acceleration change (from start to stop, or stop to start).

Similar to the stress connecting rods are put under in an engine. At least, to my way of thinking :) ymmv!
Click to expand...
Nice backtracking, but there is still no such thing as "kinetic force" and ultimately the kinetic energy of the remote doesn't matter one whit.
 
urbsnspices said:
The first thing I would do with my new wII is take off that fruity strap.
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That's exactly what I did to my remote.

The strap goes on if anyone else is using my remote though (fortunately I have 4 remotes now so that's almost never).
 
What all of you are missing, is the tension of the string. In an ideal situation where the wiimote leaves in a straight path with no rotation eventually the strap will reach a maximum tension before stopping the motion of the wiimote, OR breaking the strap and the wiimote will continue on its path. The wiimote will exert a force on the persons wrist, and the wrist will put a force on the wiimote, and this is where the tension comes from.

I'm going to have to look through my physics notes to find the exact equation that takes into account the mass of the projectile, and the mass of what its connected to, to calculate the tension. I want to say its as simple as F(tension) = mass * acceleration but that simple form doesn't take everything into consideration.

If you take any kind of rotation into account the physics, and formulas become exponentially more complex.
 
You're never going to get anything close to a real world value if you go about it theoretically.

You need to take into account the elasticity of the strap (the webbing has quite a bit), the elasticity of the wrist, momentum imparted onto the arm, etc etc. There will be a lot of energy absorbed by the stretchy part of the strap, skin, muscle, etc etc.
 
Wear and tear, you all forgot about wear and tear. I don't think anyone is breaking their wii on the first bowl or serve.
 
Jiffylush said:
Wear and tear, you all forgot about wear and tear. I don't think anyone is breaking their wii on the first bowl or serve.
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You're saying these people are letting go of their strap multiple times?

Gah.
 
There have been too many threads on the Wii-strap-breaking-subject, and it's getting old.
 
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