12/11   Following up:
        I just did this problem last week again for fun.
                                                \_ for fun? you must be really
                                                   great at a party or out on
                                                   a date!
                My wife thinks I'm a pretty good date _/
                thank you very much, and hers is really the only opinion that
                counts on the matter.  Yes, I read the Feynman lectures in my
                spare time.  So what?
                \_ So who is she dating?  What's her id on the casual
                   encounters board at craig'slist?  I've got 2 bucks.
                   \_ CE is so yesterday on CL. Go for Erotic Services.
        Turns out the max force (when the last bit of the
        chain hits the scale) is twice the weight.  I've
        verified this experimentally.  The weight v. time
        is: f(t) = (m/l)*(gt)^2
        m = mass, l=length, g = gravity
        \_ what did you do "experimentally"?
                                          --psb
        \_ what did you do "experimentally"? --psb
           \_ I took a chain of non-negligible mass, and watched it as it hit
              the scale.  The maximum force reached twice the weight of the
              chain when it was done (and of course rapidly went to zero
           \_ Also, interesting followup to the ladder-against-the-wall: what is
              the final horizonatal velocity of the ladder?  What if the wall
              weren't there?
              afterwards).
           \_ Also, interesting followup to the ladder-against-the-wall: what
              is the final horizonatal velocity of the ladder?  What if the
              wall weren't there?