A walkway suspended across a hotel lobby is supported at numerous points along its edges by a vertical cable above each point and a vertical column underneath. The steel cable is 1.27 cm in diameter and is 5.85 m long before loading. The aluminium column is a hollow cylinder with an inside diameter of 16.14 cm, an outside diameter of 16.24 cm, and unloaded length of 3.25 m. When the walkway exerts a load force of 8600 N on one of the support points, how much does the point move down?
Why is the length of 3.25 and 5.85 are being timed by 4 when utilized in an equation