AN ARTIFICIAL LAKE.

Evening Post, Volume CIV, Issue 68, 17 September 1927, Page 20

AN ARTIFICIAL LAKE.

/ Hero is an interesting little problem, the solution, of which might suggest the use of diameters, chords; radii, etc., though nothing so academic is required. An artificial lake was of a uniform depth throughout, the bottom of it hazing a level concrete floor. Two men, D. and J., could not agree about its depth, the.former asserting that a "six-foot" man, unable to swim, could walk across, J. contending, that the depth of water would prevent him. To settle the point they rowed .out to the centre to measure it, taking a rule, a small anchor, and rope. After dropping the anchor, they found that they had neglected to measure the length of the rope, and endeavoured to haul the anchor up, but one of the flukes had fouled a piece of loose reinforifed iron on the bed and remained fast. However,, they found that the greatest perpendicular height above the water to wliich the loose end of the rope could be extended was nine inches, arid three feet, from that spot, keeping the rope taut,- and allowing the boat to drift, the end of the rope just became submerged. Assuming that the fixed end of the rope just reached the concrete floor, how deep was the lake?