Whippy vs Rigid
Posted by Haron on 22 Aug 2006 at 10:05 pm | Tagged as: Spanking Accessories, Startles
In “Shaman’s Crossing” by Robin Hobb, young Nevare looks back at his tutors:
One was a wizened old man with severely bound white locks and yellow teeth, who taught me tactics, logic, and to write and speak Varnian […] all with the liberal use of a very flexible cane that never seemed to leave his hand.
This isn’t much of a startle - we’ve all seen more explicit caning references - but it sent me into a little daydream. “A very flexible cane” - is this better or worse than if it were less flexible? Would Nevare have preferred that?
I doubt it. In my experience, stiff implements (paddles, rulers, wooden spoons, stiff canes) are this much more painful than something supple and whippy. I’m sure there’s Newtonian physics involved in this.
…On the other hand, a less whippy cane might have broken, where this very flexible implement was able to continue doing its work. And of course, a sight of a cane flexed in the tutor’s hands - until its crooked handle meets the tip - is heart-stoppingly terrifying. A stiff cane just isn’t as dramatic.
It hurts more, though. Or does it?
Any thoughts?
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I always thought whippy stings more, and less-flexible thuds. Cosidering that angular acceleration equals r times omega squared (where r is the radius and omega the angular velocity), it reasons that the further from the pivot point the tip is , the faster it will be moving. In the case of either a whippy or non-flexible cane, consider the elbow (or shoulder) the pivot point. All other things being equal, they would be moving at the same speed and acceleration at impact. But(t), the whippy cane flexes in mid shaft incrementally adding yet more angular speed and acceleration. Hence, it stings more.
Now, I know that I sound like a friggin’ engineer, but Haron raised the specter of Newtonian physics. Or, do I just have too much time on my hands? LOL.
Excellent point, Mitch - the tip of a cane does travel faster than the stem.
A whippy cane springs right back away, though, whereas a thick stick doesn’t. I wonder what the effect of that is…
Mitch - I think your theorem needs to be tested in a lab environment. Haron, where can we find a lab?
This is a late post which maybe won’t even get read, I am not sure, but I just bought a whimpy cane and I kinda don’t like it - I think I prefer to be caned with things that are heavy, very importantly, and sturdy. So my apple stick, as he calls it, for example, is that - sturdy and heavy. However, I have not been actually caned with my first real cane yet, so maybe it will be not bad in practice (I mean, maybe it WILL be bad, which is a good thing, you realize).
Amber - I certainly hope it’ll be bad. Good, I mean.