How Does a Tug-of-War Accident Sever Somebody’s Arms?

Question

How Does a Tug-of-War Accident Sever Somebody’s Arms?

I recently learned that the game of tug-of-war can sever arms when the rope snaps. How is this possible? What does that look like? What physical mechanism makes this possible? Wouldn’t everybody just fall backwards?

In: 3426

Answer 1

Ideally you would use UHMWPE (ultra high molecular weight polyethylene) rope like dyneema or spectra. These are rapidly replacing steel cable because they are very light and have almost no stretch – meaning that they store little energy under tension.