Question

[MrDude]

Anyone know of what kind of material that can be made into very very thin wire/string but can also hold up to 300 or 400 pounds ?

 

[Deamiter]

Just off Google (yes, I like google) I searched for fishing line, and I found some 400lb test line that's only .053mm in diameter (I assume -- other lines on the page were measured in mm, though this particular one only came with a number) and is very cheap. Rather than looking for a type of material, I would suggest looking for fishing line -- especially in deep sea fishing. Braided line is much stronger than monofilament and can still be VERY small (the link I'm posting has 49 strands at only .053mm). It's always possible that my numbers are confused as the site I found isn't set up for a question like yours, but deep-sea fishing lines are at LEAST within an order of magnitude of what you're looking for (given that I have only a vague clue of what your tolerances are).

http://www.fishermansoutfitter.com/...-AFW49400A.html?L+scstore+hqbm3658+1093594524

 

[MrDude]

Excellent, that would would work perfectly. Thanks man.

 

[Deamiter]

so... what're you using it for?

 

[fallen^sparrow]

Best to ask that before you give a suggestion Deamiter... what would you say if Dude said he needed it to try bungee jumping? Stranger things have happened... never underestimate people's ability to find rediculous ways to hurt themselves or others, heh.

fallen^sparrow

 

[jidujiao]

Ummm, .053mm is thinner than the dot at the end of this sentence. One-twentieth of a millimeter? Really?

 

[Deamiter]

This is true, and why I expressed the possibility of some other unit, but that's the numbers quoted on the site. It COULD be inches I suppose, but all the LABELED units were in mm (for other types of line) so I gave it my best guess. I'd still like to know what it's for...

 

[Individual-KesTrel]

Even with the strongest fishing line it would not be to smart to go bungie jumping

You see you always need tension on you're line to keep the fish on there. If it jumps out of the water and releases it, it can snap the line.

There are some very large game fish in the ocean, like blue marlin that get really big 1000+ - 2000+ Easy They have boating crew/fishing tournaments for those really big fish.MM try cleaning that one hehhe.

 

[MrDude]

Even with the strongest fishing line it would not be to smart to go bungie jumping

You see you always need tension on you're line to keep the fish on there. If it jumps out of the water and releases it, it can snap the line.

There are some very large game fish in the ocean, like blue marlin that get really big 1000+ - 2000+ Easy They have boating crew/fishing tournaments for those really big fish.MM try cleaning that one hehhe.

I don't understand how that would snap the line in two? Why would the fish releasing the line snap it, because wouldn't that relieve pressure and tension?

 

[Key Peninsula Redneck]

What kind of snap?

 

[OneLastBreath]

Never underestimate the power of dental floss. Strong stuff. Seriously.

 

[1haytc]

I just love science

 

[Key Peninsula Redneck]

Never underestimate the power of dental floss. Strong stuff. Seriously.

Like that epoxy in The Blues Brothers?

 

[Individual-KesTrel]

Yeah its a general rule you want to keep tension on a line. If its a large fish of course.
Speaking stricltly scientificly, I have no clue and I'll admit that. Ide need certin size ect.

 

[OneLastBreath]

I don't understand how that would snap the line in two? Why would the fish releasing the line snap it, because wouldn't that relieve pressure and tension?

Temporarily, yes it would. But it will give the fish room to start swimming and build up some momentum. Then it'll reach the end of the line, and all the kinetic energy it had from its motion will be converted into a tensile force on the fishing line. For an analogy, imagine you have a heavy weight on your shoulders. You want to relieve the crushing force on your collar bone, so you decide to step off the nearby embankment, with the ground 10 feet below. True, while you're in free fall the force (in this case, the weight of the object) will be alleviated, however the object, like you, will be accelerating downward at 9.81m/s^2. When your feet hit the ground, this kinetic energy will be converted into an even greater force on your shoulders. Back to the fishing line, if the line stays taught then the fish can only swim along a circular curve whose radius is described by the fishing line. So as long as the line is strong enough to keep the fish from continuing it's motion in a direction tangent to the curve, then the fish won't be able to accelerate (other than centripetally), preventing it from increasing it's kinetic energy which it could transform into a huge force, like the weight on your shoulders got. While you would think it would reduce the chances of the line snapping by allowing it slack, it just gives the fish an opportunity to build up energy that, when the line becomes taught again, will be converted into an even bigger force that's even more likely to snap the line. Moral: a force that's constant but small is more bearable than a force that's short-lived but powerful. And don't jump off ledges with weights on your shoulders.

 

[MrDude]

But couldn't a line tested for 400 pounds be able to resist snapping? that's another thing I was looking for, something that wouldn't snap if you suddenly put a quick powerful bit of weight on it, no more than 400 at the absolute most though.

 

[marli]

You could try a nanotube. Don't think that's practical, though; we've never managed to grow them longer than a few millimetres. Hehe

 

[Deamiter]

If the line is tested at 400lbs, you shouldn't trust more than 400 pounds of WEIGHT on the line. Of course, if you are going to be bouncing (even a very small, quick jerk) then you need to add the force of the jerk to the force of gravity on the weight. I absolutely HATE trying to calculate forces into slugs, so I won't even try, but basically, unless you are going to be very careful about not dropping the weights from any height onto the line, you're going to want significant leeway in the test of your line.

 

[MrDude]

hmm, then that's bad, because I would definitly be dropping weight from a height.

 

[OneLastBreath]

Then you need a very strong elastic material. Since elastic stretches, the energy of the falling object is dissapated over a larger distance, so according to W=Fd, the force due to a conversion of kinetic energy is smaller. Same principle as car shocks. What ARE you using this for anyways?