by Dan Moren
Dr. Drang does the math on Apple’s titanium phones
The Internet’s very own Dr. Drang tries to figure out how it is that Apple’s titanium phones feel significantly lighter than the steel ones, despite a small difference. And he uses actual formulas and whatnot:
Your ability to manipulate a phone is based primarily on its mass, but also on its moment of inertia. And since the reduction in mass when switching from stainless steel to titanium is occurring almost entirely at the perimeter of the phone, the moment of inertia should be reduced more than if the mass were reduced uniformly.
The math is a bit beyond me, but it’s an interesting look at why Apple’s numbers don’t necessarily tell the whole story. There’s also some good insight on not just the particular version of titanium being used, but also how exactly Apple is attaching it to the aluminum interiors.