system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
Do all links in a chain experience the same force when carrying a load?

Hey lovelies! 

Imagine a steel chain, suspended with a weight attached on the end. Would the links further up have greater force acting on them as they would be holding up more links or would the 'equal and opposite' thing balance everything out.

And now imagine a chain drawn horizontally with a force applied to both ends - would gravity have a greater effect in the middle of the chain as there would be more leverage there if you see the chain as pivoting from the ends? And what if you had the same situation without gravity?

If there are different forces on different links could you strengthen those links and efficiently increase the overall strength of the chain? 

I look forward to hearing your thoughts.
gpt
If the chain was dangling vertically, links near the top would be experiencing higher stress because it is supporting both the load at the end of the chain and the weight of the chain itself.

If the chain was holding two things in tension horizontally (two ships pulling against each other), the stress would be the same everywhere as long as the chain is pulled taut. The stress would be higher in gravity vs. a zero-g situation (two rockets pulling against each other) because again, the chain would be bearing both the load at either and end and the weight of the chain itself.