Eight Ways to Use a Barometer to Find the Height of a Building:
- Measure the height of the barometer. Scale the side of the building, measuring its height in barometer-units.
- Drop the barometer from the top of the building. Measure the time until it hits the street. Correcting for the mass/surface ratio of the instrument, use basic acceleration equation to find the height.
- Tie string to top of barometer. Lower from roof to almost ground. Swing. Period of pendulum can be used to find distance from barometer's Center of Gravity to top of building.
- Tie a long cable to the barometer and lower it from the top of the building to the ground, and then measure the length of the cable.
- Take the barometer outside on a sunny day, measure its shadow and the buildings shadow.
- Drop the barometer from the top of the building. Measure how far was it shifted by Corriolis force. The rest is trivial.
- Sell the barometer. Purchase a tape measure long enough to measure the height of the building.
- Find someone who knows how tall the building is, and trade him the barometer for the information.
Sent by: Joke Labs posted on 29 December 2006