If the elastic limit of steel is 5.0 multiplied by 108 Pa, determine the minimum diameter a steel wire can have if it is to support a 79 kg circus performer without its elastic limit being exceeded.

Maximum stress = (Force/Area)

5*10^8 N/m^2 = (79*9.8 N)/[(pi/4)D^2]

The mimimum diameter, D, will be in meters

pi/4 * D^2 = 1.55*10^-6 m^2

D^2 = 1.97*10^-6 m^2
D = 1.4*10^-3 m = 1.4 mm.

Thanks so much!

Can you explain a little bit further

To solve this problem, we need to use the formula for stress, which is defined as the force applied divided by the cross-sectional area:

Stress = Force / Area

We can rearrange this formula to solve for the area:

Area = Force / Stress

Given:
Stress (elastic limit of steel) = 5.0 x 10^8 Pa
Force (weight of circus performer) = 79 kg x 9.8 m/s^2 (acceleration due to gravity) = 774.2 N

Substituting these values into the formula, we have:

Area = 774.2 N / (5.0 x 10^8 Pa)

Now, we need to use the formula for the area of a circle:

Area = π * r^2

Rearranging this formula to solve for the radius, we get:

r = sqrt(Area / π)

Substituting the previous expression for area into this formula, we have:

r = sqrt((774.2 N / (5.0 x 10^8 Pa)) / π)

Finally, to find the minimum diameter, we double the radius:

Diameter = 2 * r

Now we will calculate the minimum diameter:

Step 1: Calculate the area:
Area = 774.2 N / (5.0 x 10^8 Pa) = 1.5484 x 10^-6 m^2

Step 2: Calculate the radius:
r = sqrt((1.5484 x 10^-6 m^2) / π) ≈ 0.022 m

Step 3: Calculate the minimum diameter:
Diameter = 2 * r = 2 * 0.022 m = 0.044 m

Therefore, the minimum diameter the steel wire can have is approximately 0.044 meters to support the circus performer without exceeding its elastic limit.