Little Known Facts about Me
Yes, I was once certified to operate a forklift. The Physicist in me was intrigued about the dynamics of material handling and how it all works.
Way back (1992 ish) I worked as a chemical technician. Part of my responsibilities was to move large amounts of chemicals in boxes (4 gallons per box), and drums (55 gallon drums). Needless to say, I probably was in the best physical condition of my life during that 9 months or so.
But there was an upside. Since I worked off shift, I would need to drive the forklift to get my job done. So I went through the training (possibly the only person in history with a physics degree to be certified to drive a forklift), got certified, and moved a lot of product with that forklift.
I will admit, it was fun. One thing that if you are a normal person seems confusing, but for a physicist, it seemed logical was the fact that a forklift is least stable when it is not carrying anything. They tip over quite easily, and can be very hazardous to the operator and the folks nearby. However, as you approach the maximum load limit, the dynamics change, and it become the most stable it can be.
That meant when I was carrying a pallet of Freon dissolved in methanol (about 750# per 55 gallon drum), the machine was at its best performance.
Silly facts.
I love this, while I studied History and not physics lol (those were lessons well learned in very rudimentary ways) there’s a feeling you get at the point of increased stability as the operator. Leaving college for the glamor of a Marine Corps enlistment🤦🏻♀️😂, I was an equipment operator and worked underground furthering that career in a salt mine. There is a very unique relationship between man and machine in forklifts and drills, even under cutters, and you can “feel the physics and geology” for lack of a better way to express it. There are feelings that let you know the load is secure or not, how is the material being cut or drilled, those extra forces can be ‘felt’.
Thanks for sharing and I would say you are the first physicist I know of to have been certified on a forklift!
Hilarious, I did not know that about you, but u coulda been me. Only I think I came up earlier when you had to drive a forklift to eat (US Army, US Post Office, etc.) but then I figured it would be easier on your back and less dangerous going into chem/physics instead of trying to hold down a dirty job for life - only to realize that Physics or an Academic work was mind-bending instead of knee-hurting and just as dangerous as loading trucks with palettes of ammo. Who woulda thunk?