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To: FraudFactor.com
not having seen it....here goes. First, War of the Worlds was remade around 8 years ago. It was called Independence Day and the aliens were killed with a virus (albeit a computer virus)

second. Mr. Ebert may be a good movie reviewer, but knows little about physics. A tripod is a very stable platform. a four legged platform always has the tendency to wobble about on 3 legs unless the surface and the legs are perfect level and a perfectly length. A tripod always has all legs on the ground.

All that being said, it seems this one is a bust and I will wait for the video.
7 posted on 07/20/2005 3:53:53 AM PDT by Vaquero (I am a red stater trapped in the body of a blue state.)
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To: Vaquero
"Mr. Ebert may be a good movie reviewer, but knows little about physics. A tripod is a very stable platform. a four legged platform always has the tendency to wobble about on 3 legs unless the surface and the legs are perfect level and a perfectly length. A tripod always has all legs on the ground."

A tripod with rigid fixed length legs is stable in the static condition as in the case of a three-legged stool, but not necessarily in the dynamic condition as in locomotion.

When analyzing three versus four (or more) legs for stability, it is necessary to differentiate between the static and dynamic conditions, and whether the legs are of fixed length and rigid geometric configuration as with a stool, or effectively of variable length and geometric configuration through the use of joints.

With only three legs, at least one leg must be off the ground at a time to move, leaving at most two legs in contact with the ground. This leads to instability unless there is some effective balancing mechanism (i.e., sensors, a means of balancing by shifting the weight distribution, and a control loop).

In nature, legs come in pairs or even numbers, due to bilateral symmetry.

20 posted on 07/20/2005 3:16:18 PM PDT by FraudFactor.com (Support redistricting reform to end gerrymandering and achieve more honest and responsive government)
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