Question

how do you find tension??

Answer 1

Tension in what?

Answer 2

formula of the tension depeds on the situation where u are required to find tension. this might help

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20061217231556AAfosKk

Answer 3

Determine Tension On a Single Length Strand

1Define the forces on either end of the strand. The strand is being strained from both ends.


Hang an object on a rope or cable. If the object is not moving, the weight of the object causes tension on the rope or cable equal to the force of gravity times the mass of the object.
Raise a hanging object with acceleration. If the suspended object is being accelerated by a force on the rope or cable, the acceleration force mass times acceleration is added to the tension caused by the weight of the object. For example, a person climbing a rope would cause tension equal to the force of gravity times the weight of the person plus the mass of the person times the acceleration of the person up the rope.
2Spin an object on a rope or cable. A pendulum or an object being whirled around exerts strain on the rope or cable caused by centripetal force, the tendency of the object to pull out of the curved path and continue on in a straight line instead. This centripetal force is added to the rope or cable as tension. Centripetal force is mass times velocity squared divided by the radius of motion. Remember that the force of gravity is still acting on the object. If the object is being spun horizontally, tension would be constant. If the object were being spun vertically, the force of gravity would add to centripetal force on the string as the object is moving up, and subtract from centripetal force as the object is moving down.
Support the object at the bottom of the swing. Tension at the bottom of the swing is the sum of object mass times the force of gravity and the centripetal force.
Keep tension on the rope or cable at the top of the swing. Tension at the top of the swing is centripetal force minus the force of gravity times the mass of the object.
Figure tension on the rope or cable during the upswing and downswing. Calculate the tension at any intermediate point in the swing as centripetal force plus or minus (mass of the object times force of gravity times the cosine of the swing angle measured from the vertical down position of the rope or cable). Use plus in the equation on the upswing, and minus on the downswing.
Calculate Tensions On Multiple Length Strands

1Lift a load using a pulley. In this configuration, the rope or cable runs down to a pulley on the load and then back up, creating 2 lengths of rope or cable strands. If the upper attachment points are separate, this causes more strain on the rope or cable than by using a single strand lift.
Use parallel vertical strands. In this case, calculate the strain as would be calculated for a single strand configuration as object mass times the force of gravity. The 2 parallel rope or cable strands divide the tension equally between them.
Use non parallel vertical strands. This configuration creates a triangle consisting of the first attachment point, the object and the second attachment point. This configuration creates horizontal strains that add to the vertical strain caused by the load of the weight. To determine the tension on each strand, use trigonometry to determine the length of the strand that now forms the hypotenuse of a triangle whose other 2 legs are vertical distance above the load and horizontal distance from the load. Remembering that the vertical tension is only half of the total generated by the load as the other strand is taking half the tension, multiply that vertical tension by the length of the hypotenuse, and then divide by the length of the vertical leg of the triangle.