Question

A steel cable with a radius of 1.5 cm supports a chairlift at a ski area. If the maximum stress is not to exceed 10⁸ N m¯², what is the maximum load the cable can support ?

Answer 1

Given, the radius of the steel cable is 1.5 cm and the maximum stress is 10 8  N/ m 2 .

The maximum stress is given by the equation,

σ= F A F=σA =σ( π R 2 )

Substituting the values in the above expression, we get:

F=( 10 8  N/ m 2 )π ( 1.5× 10 −2  m ) 2 ≈7.07× 10 4  N

Hence, the maximum load that the cable can support is 7.07× 10 4  N.