Chiara’s slave
Well-Known Member
I’m finding that formula hard to believe. That 6” circumference rope has a diameter of about 2 3 /4 ins, say 70mm. Not sure I’d want to hang 9 tons off a hemp rope that size.Who knows if it's true but Chatgpt says:
Yes, during the Victorian era, naval personnel had practical methods to estimate the breaking strain of ropes based on their dimensions. A commonly used rule of thumb was to take half the circumference of the rope, square that value, and the result would approximate the breaking strain in tons. For example, a 6-inch circumference rope would have an estimated breaking strain of (6/2)² = 9 tons. This method provided a straightforward way to assess rope strength relative to its size.