Three identical masses are attached to the ends of light strings, the other ends of which are connected together as shown in the figure. Each of the three strings has a length of 3 m. The three masses are dropped through three holes in a table and the system is allowed to reach equilibrium.

(a) What is total length of the strings lying on the table in equilibrium? (b) Select a point K inside the `triangleABC` such that AK + BK + CK is minimum, use the result obtained in (a) and the fact that potential energy of the system will be minimum when it is in equilibrium.

Answer

(a) `1/2 [1+sqrt(11/3)]`