h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

}The most powerful kind of blade is the Damascus blade!{

}Well, strong and sharp anyway. If you held a Damascus sword so that the sharp end faced up, and dropped something silk on it, the silk would be cut by its own weight!{

That's a legend. The physics involved won't support it. The sharpest blade imaginable still must be swung in order to cut through silk.

}Tell that last sentence to a Jedi.* Anyway, I quote Muse Magazine (made by the same guys as Smithsonian Magazine): "It could cut silk as it fell to the ground."{

[*Footnote: Does the word "lightsaber" mean anything to you? U46995]

Don't believe everything you read... and don't believe anything you see in a George Lucas film.

}Fine, say what you like, but Damascus blades *are* the strongest and the sharpest. The genuine articles, anyway...{

Okay, quick recap on relative velocity

take one train and one platform
the train moves past the platform at 70mph
sitting on the train, the platform moves past the train at 70mph in the other direction
it doesn't matter which is really doing the moving, the effect is the same

take one knife and move it down onto a piece of fruit - knife cuts fruit
take one knife and hold it upwards on a surface, carefully push some fruit onto it - does the knife cut the fruit?

take one sharp sword, swing it at some (taut) silk at say 2m/s - the sword cuts the silk?
take one piece of silk and, providing the silk is fairly taut, then moving the silk down over the sword will cut it

the only time the falling silk won't be cut is if it is very loose
the tautness of the silk needed to cut the silk is inversely proportional to the sharpness of the sword.

the key to Mew's statement was "drop the silk on" and "hold the sharp end up" - the weight of the silk will make the bit over the sharp end taut and the dropping motion is equivalent to a swing of the sword

Then mew is using a special silk made from Buddha worms, because silk is generally a very light substance. Drop a sheet of silk over a blade, and the silk does not remain taught, instead, it simply folds itself over the blade. The inertia of such a light substance is not enough to carry it through the sword.

Swing a sword weighing 8 pounds requires much more force than can be generated by dropping a piece of cloth.

WRONG!! Damascus is a cheap modern day imitation of Bulat (also known as ancient Indian "Wootz"). Damascus is simply pattern-welded nickel and carbon etched with acid. Granted, it makes a fine blade but it is not the strongest.

}Well than obviously the magazine equated Wootz-made swords with Damascus swords.{