Reply #249: Dude

[spooked911]

I am really really trying to find some non-controversial common starting ground.

I will say I misquoted you last post when I said "violating physical principles" -- I meant "inventing physical principles".

I don't think I claimed that the damage in a floor collision has to be perfectly equal to both floors. On the other hand, they ARE similar objects meeting across a large surface-- NOT like a hand chopping the middle of a block. So I think the damage-- as a result of the force going both ways-- to both floors should be quite similar.

This bit about the collision of two floors is actually important in that it affects the momentum calculation and thus the timing of a collapse.

I thought I was making a non-controversial claim that when the first two floors collide, there will be damage to both floors. The upper floor will impact on and damage the lower floor, and the lower floor will impact on and damage the upper floor-- consistent with Newton's third law.

I have been trying to say that the lowest floor of the upper block can be knocked off its supports just as easily as the upper floor of the lowest block can. At this point I am not sure whether you agree with this or not.

If you don't agree with it, please tell me why.