Problem Solving Reaches New Heights: WATCH A YouTuber Renting A Helicopter To Solve Physics Exam Question

After renting a helicopter to locate the answer to a physics exam question in the US Olympiad, a well-known YouTuber pushed problem-solving to new heights.

Some questions in math and physics can be difficult to solve if you don't have any practical experience. Particularly those that deal with transit modalities and speed. For the right answer, one must conduct all computations in the abstract on paper. A practical step, on the other hand, could have a different outcome.

A YouTuber recently accomplished just that. Physicist Derek Muller, who runs the Veritasium YouTube channel, used a helicopter ride to figure out a problem.

Muller discusses question 19 from the 2014 US Physics Team exam in the video above. He pronounced it as follows: “A helicopter is flying horizontally at a constant speed. A perfectly flexible uniform cable is suspended beneath the helicopter. Air friction on the cable is not negligible. Which of the following diagrams best shows the shape of the cable as the helicopter flies through the air to the right?”

There were five different options for answering the question after it had been presented. Muller chose to address the problem in a hands-on manner rather than relying on a computer or paper and pencil calculations. He rented a chopper and flew it to get the answer to the hypothetical but difficult problem.

According to Muller's YouTube video description, which was posted on October 27th, “The story of a controversial physics question on the qualifying exam for the 2014 US Physics Olympiad team. How does a uniform cable beneath a helicopter hang?”

The video showed a man lowering a cord and a 20-pound kettlebell from a helicopter to test how far they fly. After completion of the experiment, Muller concluded that Option D was the right answer. Was it, however, the correct response?

Muller then put a blue flag a few inches above the bottom of the puzzle to prove his point and get to the correct answer. But he wasn't yet persuaded. A bagged parachute was lowered into the line this time, and he repeated the experiment. As stated on the AAPT website (American Association of Physics Teachers), "since there is air friction on the cable, then there must be a horizontal component to the force where the cable attaches to the helicopter."

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