What the ... happens when...

[0gr0]

what do you think?

[EvaRia]

I can answer B.

In the game, there is a similar glitch that can be performed only in a custom map.

What you do is this:

You make a room where you cannot stand, but the ceiling is just high enough to crouch.
You crouch, walk in the room, then shoot a portal above you, then below you.
You are then continually falling.
When you stand up, you end up being in 3 different portals. This forces you into an empty space outside the map and it is impossible to return.

[OldTrees]

A) It accelerates due to the Force of Gravity and lack of a Normal Force. This reaches a terminal velocity when the Drag Force from the Air Resistance equals the Weight of the rod.

B) Moving the portal causes a compression force along the rod that increases as the portal drops. Probably causing the Rod to bend or break the soder.

C) Depends on the nature of the portal. I would guess it would cut the rod at which point the Force of Gravity would cause it to go down and to the right through the blue portal and left and down out the new orange portal. Based on the previously mentioned terminal velocity it would end on the ground far to the left of both portals.

[Bloodshadow]

OH GOD... I debated about this SO MUCH with a friend in physics class... ???



A) Infinite energy, as above. Until it reaches terminal velocity.

B) The rod will be crushed by itself.

C) When you shut off the portal while the rod is halfway inside, it will be cut (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/PortalCut).

The problem with generating infinite energy using portals is that it allows you to increase the gravitational potential energy of an object without doing any work at all. This can mean two things: either portals cannot exist, or it's possible to glitch physics.

[Camoninja]

Since we can't make portals in real life, this is entirely speculation with no wrong answer, right? So here's my speculation.

Supposing you solder the rod so well, it has as much air resistance as on the sides, eventually there would be a terminal velocity, somewhere near infinity. It would cause friction to the same air molecules, heating them up to an unbearable tempurature. I would advise not touching the rod after you let go.

If you try to squash the portals together, you won't be able to because the rod would squeeze in on itself, eventually break somewhere, and shoot out the side from part 1's velocity and smash through everything in its path for a long way.

Now putting one portal somewhere else would cause the rod to break at the exit (upper) portal because the rod can't feed itself to itself anymore. The near-infinite velocity would send out a deadly projectile shooting too fast to see, in the direction of the previously top portal.

[nerd1]

if you let go of the rod, the rod would go in whichever direction you were exerting the most force in when you let go, until air resistance stops it, as gravity would not affect it, because under the rod is only more metal rod.

[OldTrees]

if you let go of the rod, the rod would go in whichever direction you were exerting the most force in when you let go, until air resistance stops it, as gravity would not affect it, because under the rod is only more metal rod.

Gravity would still affect the rod from the mass to the sides of the portal. The combined forces would result in a net downward force.
/ + \ = |
           |

[Nepycros]

I'd be mindraped if I tried looking into the lower portal while holding onto the soldered rod. Not only is that infinite me's looking down forever... but if I slid down it like a pole at the fire department...

[idirex]

the rod is something of a bizzare ring , so it cant move by gravity alone .

[OldTrees]

the rod is something of a bizzare ring , so it cant move by gravity alone .

Why not? Gravity as a Force would still apply between each atom of the ground and each atom of the Rod. All these force vectors add to be a force pulling the rod down. Unless there is another force involved, we can assume that F=mA therefore we will see acceleration downward (weird rotational acceleration since it is a weird ring).

[teffy]

My ideas :
A. A falling rod which produces infinite energy like Bloodshadow showed is impossible. The portals add potential energie to the water / the rod and do mechanical work.
I think, you have to "pay" for this mechanical work e.g. like this:

A.1: you need electrical energy for the portals to put particles from the blue one to the red one. The rod falls down, but you need electrical energy to accelerate the rod.

A.2: The portals take the energy away from the kinetic energy of particles coming in. Then, the rod doesn´t move, because the potential energy of the rod is always the same. The "counter force" comes from the slower particles coming out of the upper portal.

B: If there can´t be particles inside the portal, you get a compression of the rod.
C: You probably can´t get this situation. When you move the portal too much, the rod brakes.