George of the Jungle, with mass m, swings on a light vine hanging from a stationary tree branch. A second vine of equal length hangs from the same point, and a gorilla of larger mass M swings in the opposite direction on it. Both vines are horizontal when the primates start from rest at the same moment. George and the gorilla meet at the lowest point of their swings. Each is afraid that one vine will break, so they grab each other and hang on. They swing upward together, reaching a point where the vines make an angle of 35.0° with the vertical.
(a) Find the value of the ratio m/M.
(b) What If? Try this at home. Tie a small magnet and a steel screw to opposite ends of a string. Hold the center of the string fixed to represent the tree branch, and reproduce a model of the motions of George and the gorilla. What changes in your analysis will make it apply to this situation? What If? Assume the magnet is strong, so that it noticeably attracts the screw over a distance of a few centimeters. Then the screw will be moving faster just before it sticks to the magnet. Does this make a difference?