Half Full Or Half Empty?

[Hooman]

A barrel without a lid (open top) contains wine. It looks like the barrel is about half full, but there is no real certainty here. How would you determine if the barrel was more than half full or less than half full, without removing any wine from the barrel, and without using any measuring instruments.
 

[CK9]

you use your arm

[Eddy-B]

hooman, how black and white is "measuring instrument" ?
i mean: does using an arm count as using a measuring instrument?
BTW, CK9, that only owrk if the barrel isn't too big. (=not more than twice the length of your arm)

[Hooman]

Yeah, I think Eddy has a point there. Don't use your arm.  

Besides, this is a barrel of wine. You don't want to pollute it in any way. (Well, ok. I'd have been happy just dumping it down the drain and eliminating the problem entirely, but there is some good theory to demonstrate here).


Basically, all you have in this problem is the barrel of wine. You also have yourself, but don't go sticking yourself in the wine. That would sorta remove wine from the barrel when you remove yourself. That and it'd be gross to all the people that might actually want to drink it.    

[zanco]

Well, you just knock on the barrel. lol. If you hear a shallow sound somewhere around the middle then it is half empty... Then how would you know if you are hitting at a height that is half of the barrel's hight?? ... maybe, You have to observe the shape of the barrel closely. If this is a regular barrel, then you will be able to see that the middle (or the height/2) is located at the point where the diameter is the greatest (just use your eyes)... it's something analogous to a sphere actually...

If this doesn't work, then you drink the wine, if you are half drunk then it was half empty if not then it was half full. LOL!

[leeor_net]

If this doesn't work, then you drink the wine, if you are half drunk then it was half empty if not then it was half full. LOL!

That would have been my answer. Depends on how drunk you get after finishing it off!

[Freeza-CII]

Hmmmm i guess i would just see how many empty glasses i could find that had wine in them in the vacinity lol and give a good guess.  Or i suppose i could just wait to see how much evaporates.  Or i could go get another barrel and compare the to using the MK 1 eyeball.  

[Eddy-B]

Question hooman: is the barrel of a strange shape ?
or is it a classic, symmetric shape.
Coz if it is: i know how to do it

[CK9]

OH WAIT!!!  I KNOW!  You become an experienced French wine maker!  lmao

[leeor_net]

LOL!

CK9, you come up with the best posts sometimes

[CK9]

Well, it comes with the territory

me, I'd just call one of the wineries down the road and ask them how to check

[HaXtOr]

well you never said we coundnt add any whine to the barel so i would say take a measured 1/2 barrel or whine and put it in the barrel you want to measure. if it over flows then you have more then a 1/2 barell.. yatta yatta yatta

[CK9]

plus, you get more people drunk and can take their wallets that way

[Hooman]

You don't have extra wine to put into the barrel. Nice try thought.

Eddy has PMed me the correct answer. And yes, the barrel is a standard, symmetric barrel, with not odd shape to it.

I will however state that there is no way to "look" at the barrel to find it's midpoint. Assume the wine is close enough to the middle that you can't be sure.


And who the heck can drink half a barrel of wine?

[CK9]

if there is a large tub of water, stick te barrel in.  The ammount of wine will effect how well it floats

[Hooman]

Hmm, an interesting idea. But I'm gonna say you don't have a tub of water avilable. Besides, I don't see how you'd be able to take an accurate measurement there.
 

[CK9]

well, then I'd call up a friend in France, ask them to ask a wine maker there, and follow the advice

[HaXtOr]

ok freese the barrel solid then take the frozen block of whine out and see if it is 1/2 the size of the barrel...

 

[CK9]

but that's removing the wine

[Hooman]

Agreed. You may not remove wine from the barrel.
 

[Freeza-CII]

I would stick some thing of a certain size and displace the wine and it should tell me how much is in there

Or i could fill the barrel with water till all the wine is gone then drain it out to the point i thought it was at and see how much it is.

I suppose a person could drink the wine till they got to a point that a accuate measurment could be taken and its not removing the wine from the barrel if i am sitting in it .

If it is a barrel like a 50 gallon drum then all you have to do is read the lines on the side they split the barrel to 4ths.  

[HaXtOr]

can i use a string then? if not take your shirt off and ripp a stripp off of it as long as the barrel is tall. fold the strip exactly in 1/2 and rip it again so you have 2 eaquil 1/2s... use this top see if your barrel is 1/2 full. or as i liekt o say it hs the holding capasity of 2 times is curent contents and thus is inefficient

[Hooman]

There are easier ways than destroying property in an attempt to measure it. There is also easier ways than getting serious drunk and having one heck of a hang over the next day. Of course, you'd probably just die from alcohol poisoning if you managed to drink half of a large enough barrel.
 

[Freeza-CII]

To find out the quanity of the wine it sounds like a worthly quest lol

[HaXtOr]

There are easier ways than destroying property in an attempt to measure it.

but destroying things is fun!