I've asked a few people but still no one can give me an answer!
BTW: I can up with this myself. It's an easy complication but a complex answer - if there is one!

Brainteaser: Shadow

Laws of Physics (i guess)
If a single post stands in the light it will create a shadow.
If there is no light a shadow can not be created.

The Situation
A person stands in the light and a post is in the person's shadow.

The Question
What object creates the shadow that is protruding from the post?

Think
It can't be the persons because thier shadow is on the post.
It can't be the posts because the post has no light on it therefore can not create a shadow.

I will be very surprised if you can come up with an answer for that!
If you can figure it out i will give you some hosting credits!

P.S. I don't know the answer, I came up with the brainteaser and will accept any reasonable, logical answers.

 

 

 

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i do have to attent you that if you got a shadow there does come light there... because if there wasn't a light there, you would only see a black hole thingy

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Is your question asking, what shadow is extending beyond the post's "original" shadow?

Well, if you are asking in that realm the logical answer is that the person is standing much closer to the light source (i.e. a direct headlight) and the person's shadow is much greater than the post's shadow. Therefore, the person's shadow overpowers and extends beyond the normal casting of post's shadow.

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The person is standing about a foot away from the two foot post. the person is six foot and larger than the post. If the person wasn't standing there the post would have a shadow but the person is standing there. and the posts shadow is still there, so why is the posts shadow still there?

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OK, if we take the post as being a lamp post, it will be about 15 feet tall, and we will say a shadow of 10 feet long on the ground. A person who is 6 feet tall will therefore create a shadow of 4 feet. If this person is stood 2 feet infront of the post, towards the source of light, they will have 2 feet of shadow on the ground and 2 feet of shadow on and behind the post. The person is wider than the post, therefore the middle section of their shadow will get put onto the post, but the two side bits will fall either side of the post. The post will still create a shadow, as some light can get between the area between the person and the post.

OK, that was extremely complicated but I know it works, I tried it with a biro, some tack, my finger and a window

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That gave me a headache!

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Well, if any light is strong enough there will be a small amount of refraction anyway, i.e. th elight will bend and bounce off other materials such as the ground and walls...the only answer I can give is this...

There is no light, or lack of light, where what you call a 'shadow' is, because there is an object blocking the light from reflecting off the ground...therefore, because of your arguements above, we cannot actually call the 'shadow' a shoadow, because nothing is casting it...it just so happens that light cannot reach the spot where the pole and the mans shodow would usuallyy be cast...

How is that for an answer? (It may be a little hard to follow, sorry, but it was flowing from my mind and i didn't want to have to re-write for perposes of actually making sense! )

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