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In a standard Atwood machine physics problem, the string going over the pulley is considered massless. So does that imply mass = 0 or mass = dm? General question: what is the difference between 0 and an infinitesimal number?

Qmechanic
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Curious
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1 Answers1

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A big difference is the fact that you can divide a number by an infinitesimal number. You can't divide a number by zero. So certain terms are sometimes excluded in certain equations because of this fact.

Natsfan
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