J.C.MacSwell

I agree...though they only agree at that point...they tend toward disagreement as they diverge and back toward agreement as they converge

They would be in the same gravity well but travelling at different speeds. Time would slow more for the twin travelling furthest wrt an inertial frame, which the spinning Earth is not. In the scenario described this could be either travelling furthest, or it could be the same for both. So I would say different possible results even for the simple cases where the tower is on the equator, and the other twin flying West or East at varying speeds for each case.

The one currently facing the Sun...but somehow I think you know that

This isn't one of those don't lift the knife/pencil without backtracking ones is it? That would be to easy. Two identical pieces and a third of equal area.

Not sure what the Michelin Man was doing when his lower body was severed away...but at least he died happy...

There is a compressive tidal force, or set of forces, on an object at right angles to the gravitational force (Newtonian), but it would assist with spaghettification, not pancaking.

Something ahead of or behind you on your path toward the centre would be getting further away, but everything else would be converging with you. I would have to think about how it might appear, but I would expect directional distortions would be apparent.

You could. All you need is a little push in the right direction. Don't worry about getting the information out. We'll send in the directions once you're inside...

There are many paths inside the event horizon...they all lead to the centre, which is possibly a singularity. There is a gradient in the gravitational field, both inside and outside the event horizon. The smaller less massive the black hole the greater is the gradient. The gradient is there because gravity is stronger as you approach the centre.This gives rise to tidal forces. If the gradient is great enough you get "spaghettified"...if you are heading feet first your feet are pulled from your body, which is pulled from your head. If the black hole is massive enough this can take place well inside the event horizon, since though the gravity is strong the gradient can still be tolerable. If the black hole is small enough this can take place outside of the event horizon since though the gravity might not be quite as strong (still very strong) the gradient is stronger there than just inside the event horizon of a more massive black hole. It is all about the gradient. With a good gradient all you need is the sauce, grated cheese, and perhaps some meatballs.

Ah...the age old question...if I say something in the forest and my wife is not around to hear it...am I still wrong?

Sooo...how did you do?

Right. Also the spring is assumed massless, but fixed at one end or attached to a massive object (can be assumed infinite) that can absorb (in case of an idealized damper) or can reverse (in this case of an idealized spring) any momentum in the remainder of the system. It is always good to look at it and ask if the assumptions are reasonable for the purpose. If, say, the bullet takes any significant time to imbed, the results will be off.

Thanks Doc I had read about him recently and the fact that he had more Neanderthal DNA than modern Europeans, after reading a thread in the Bio section IIRC. (might have been in speculations) Here is his Wiki page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%96tzi

LA, why will you not get enough sleep? I would suggest you pace your time so that you can take very short mini-breaks and get up, pace or stretch. Just make sure you are aware of whether your opponents clock is ticking or your own. You can also stand behind your chair to analyse and shift your weight back and forth...a bit of movement can help, especially if you are overtired.

You are looking at radiation that has redshifted out of your visible spectrum due to universal expansion since it was sent, and toward some that is delayed to the point it will never arrive. So you are unable to observe anything in those areas of the sky.

The best tournament I ever had followed a couple of nights of watching 2 very highly ranked players play speed chess (5 minutes each blitz). If there was something interesting they might quickly analyze a position from the game (they could place every piece immediately in position, even if it was 20 + moves back) but for the most part play 20 + games back to back while I watched. Somehow this allowed me to play above my level during the tournament. I assumed it was mostly pattern recognition of both openings and stronger middle game play than what I typically played. I don't believe I would have done as well if I had spent the same nights playing speed chess as I did from watching better players, given that I was equally focused. P.S. I had no beer during the tournament...if LA was wondering

Frictionless is the key. It can't avoid the sides...the darn Moon makes sure of that.

You might use over half, well into which time you will have been struggling, but you won't get a whole lot further before your demise. http://www.geography.hunter.cuny.edu/tbw/wc.notes/1.atmosphere/oxygen_and_human_requirements.htm

What is the dew point of the air in the house vs the air outside?

Assume an ideal spring. You can assume energy is conserved without dissipation from the point after the collision where the masses are then at the same velocity. You have to assume the collision was instantaneous or you will not have enough information. From the spring constant and amplitude you can for that energy. Knowing the total mass you can solve for what the velocity was at that point, just after the instantaneous collision. From that velocity and the masses you can solve for the initial velocity of the bullet, and you can also solve for the initial kinetic energy and how much energy was lost in the inelastic collision. You can also solve it by making other assumptions about the collision being not instantaneous, but it gets more complicated because the spring will displace during the duration of the collision.

“Okay you guys, pair up in threes!” -Yogi Berra

Just another excremental advancement in science...

Thanks strange. So at anything but very close to c, they drop below a detectable level.

If neutrinos (or gravitons) have a very small mass, and thereby travel "almost" at c, should there not be some pretty slow ones running around these parts, having travelled some distance while the Universe expanded?

"Most facts about coincidences cited on the internet are factually incorrect, or incorrectly attributed" -Mahatma Ghandi