Questions

A number of possible explanations for why manhole covers are round include :

1. A round manhole cover cannot fall through its circular opening, whereas a square, rectangular, or oval manhole cover could fall in if it were inserted diagonally in the hole.

2. Circular covers don’t need to be rotated or precisely aligned when placing them on the opening.

3. A round manhole cover is easily moved and rolled.

4. Human beings have a roughly circular cross-section.

5. Round tubes are the strongest shape against the compression of the earth around them, so the cover of the tube would naturally be round as well.

6. It’s easier to dig a circular hole.

An intensive property is a physical quantity whose value does not depend on the amount of the substance for which it is measured. For example, the temperature of a system in thermal equilibrium is the same as the temperature of any part of it. If the system is divided the temperature of each subsystem is identical. The same applies to the density of a homogeneous system, if the system is divided in half, the mass and the volume change in the identical ratio and the density remains unchanged. Additionally, the boiling point of a substance is another example of an intensive property. For example, the boiling point for water is 100 °C at a pressure of one atmosphere, a fact which remains true regardless of quantity.

National Institute of Aeronautical Engineering is located at Dehradun, Uttaranchal, India.