OK Victor, you are correct in that the free end of the treadmill does move in an arc, but at any point along that arc, you can describe the triangle. Made by the three points as follows:
1: the stationary end of the treadmill. 2: the point directly below the stationary end, and at the same height of the opposite end of the treadmill. IE, that point will move up and down as the far end of the treadmill moves up and down. 3: the far end of the treadmill. That point will move up and down, but will also move in and out as the treadmill moves up and down. The distance from the fixed point of the treadmill to the point directly below it is the rise or height of the triangle. The distance from the free end of the treadmill to the imaginary point below the fixed end, is the run or base of the triangle. For small angles, you can assume that this run is the same length as the treadmill, 60 inches in our example. However, as the angle increases, the length of that base leg will actually get shorter. The hypotenuse of the triangle is the length of the treadmill. So, for any given angle, and since you have the hypotenuse, you can get the other two sides of the triangle. I think this dead horse is sufficiently beaten now. -- Blue skies. Dan Rossi Carnegie Mellon University. E-Mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Tel: (412) 268-9081
