The cow and the silo.

[Uncwilly]

Folks, note in the set-up for the puzzle the fact there is not a third dimension invovled, there shall not be any funny shapes.

Originally Posted by Uncwilly

Assume that the chain does not angle, and that the cow's mouth is at the tip of the chain. This is a 2D puzzle.

The dimensions are also stated without decimals or the word exactly.

The important features of the puzzle are:
There is an ever dimminishing radius, caused by the wrapping around the silo.
There is an are of overlap that needs to be accounted for.

[nomadicus]

Originally Posted by eepiccolo

Oh, when I said sinc, I meant cosh. I get the two confused. And a catenary is a cosh function! It all makes sense now.

And the professor who told us that a chain follows a cosh also said a cable on a suspension bridge follows a parabola.

Bingo. Now it makes sense to me too. :)