"Load Bearing Surface"

[sanddrag]

Originally Posted by Katie Reynolds

you have to have a load-bearing surface (like a wheel) that lies inside your original base touching the loading zone to receive a tetra.

Why a wheel? From a simple physics standpoint, even a thread would be a load bearing surface. By gravity, the thread is pushing on the ground, and by Newton's third law, the ground is pushing on the thread. Because the thread is mounted to the robot, it is applying some or all (I won't get into complex physics) of the "equal and opposite" force to the robot. You wouldn't even have to explain it this far, since the thread is part of the robot and it is applying force to itself. Since the thread has dimension, it has surface. And because load is being applied on this surface, it is a load bearing surface.

However minuscule, a load is a load and IMHO even a hanging thread would satisfy the rule.

EDIT: However I'm not sure that this will satisfy the "blatantly obvious" rule/suggestion. Also, what is the difference between "in" the loading zone and "touching" the loading zone. It should be blatantly obvious that you are in, but does it have to be blatantly obvious that you touch?

I think FIRST should eliminate the touching rule and keep the blatantly obvious one to eliminate all the "hoola skirt" ghettofab people will be putting on their fine quality machines.