Winter driving...or what's wrong with me?

[GottaBeTRD]

:iagree: however there are some idiots out there that drive too slow (way slower than everyone else) in the fast lane and i wanna get this off my chest. If your going to go slower than everyone else in the snow then stay home, take a bus, or car pool with some one who feels confident driving in the snow. Cause these people causes accidents probably as much as the idiots who think there invicible with there large 4X4's Here ya are put put-ing along and people are just trying to keep momentum (of corse keep a safe distance) which everyone useually does, but here they come, and little Frosty here is goin so slow it causes people to pass you and change lanes and hit the (built up) un-plowed snow and then maybe slip out of control? not safe! haha Confidence is very important when driving in the snow. dont be scared, (your car or truck can sence if your scared) just drive safe and smart. Or please just find a different way to get to your destination.

 

[alaskaman]

I think perhaps you are thinking of the law of conservation of energy, which states that energy cannot be created or destroyed, merely converted into other forms. A moving SUV does indeed contain a respectable amount of kinetic energy, and this is usually converted to heat energy via the friction between the brake pads and the rotors. On ice, the mechanical linkage in this system breaks down as the tires have close to 0 traction on the surface, so the time & distance required to convert this energy to heat is greatly increased. If the vehicle encounters another object before this can be done, the energy is converted to mechanical force and used to bend fenders, frames, people, etc.

Einstein's thoughts on this wouldn't come into play until the velocities in question became a significant fraction of the speed of light. Not something we're going to see with our cars any time soon. For example, the heat generated by atmospheric drag (friction) on the car body would become a serious problem with current metals technology way before you even got near that speed.

Sure that coffee shouldn't be a Jack Daniels?

Actually..........conservation of energy refers only to a closed system but you are partially correct. The law, discovered by the famous French aristocrat Antoine Lavoisier whose tedious experiments proved that matter is never lost (except when he lost his head to the French revolution and to his 20 year younger wife) clearly proved that matter can be reconstituted within a closed system over and over again. That said, an SUV careening down the road on ice (loss of traction) lets call that (a) hits harder only partially because of (a). (b) ( force of impact) is not equal to the loss of traction and the result of smacking quite a bit harder into school bus filled with young children by said SUV. This occurs for two reasons. First it is not a closed system and second, the incresed speed due to (a) is not equal to the force of impact (b). This was made evident by Emilie du Chatelet who distinctly seized upon experiments conducted in Russia that proved impact (in her case lead balls dropped from different heights) is not squared but to the power of 4.

Accordingly (a) loss of traction = (b) force of impact x speed to the 4th power.

not to quibble, but this is basically a precursor to the special theory of Einstein and at least in my opinion deserves his name inclusively.

I'm ready for that Jack now...... :bigok:

 

[GottaBeTRD]

alsaskaman i wanna pick your brain! ive wondered this for a long time. i wish mythbusters would do something like this (by the way i dont tailgate im afraid of break checks lol) Ok so 2 cars are traveling on road at whatever speed. the car behind is riding the the guys butt, ok now hear come the tecnical stuff. if the Jack A behind is riding within inches of his bumber, im talkin really close (almost touching) and the guy in front slams on his brakes. what will happen? will this cause as much damage then if he was a few feet??? how bout them apples?

 

[alaskaman]

alsaskaman i wanna pick your brain! ive wondered this for a long time. i wish mythbusters would do something like this (by the way i dont tailgate im afraid of break checks lol) Ok so 2 cars are traveling on road at whatever speed. the car behind is riding the the guys butt, ok now hear come the tecnical stuff. if the Jack A behind is riding within inches of his bumber, im talkin really close (almost touching) and the guy in front slams on his brakes. what will happen? will this cause as much damage then if he was a few feet??? how bout them apples?

You are funny. actually I slept in a Holiday Inn last night and watched NOVA.

Imagine if both cars were traveling at exactly same speed bumpers almost touching and the lead car hits it brakes. less distance equals less speed. now say they are 4 feet apart and the same speed. again, lead car hits the breaks that would result in an increased speed as the rate of deceleration (lead car slowing rapidly) while the other car is maintaining the same speed. so first calculate the speed of both cars (one slowing the other maintaining). There are many ways to figure this out like Force = mass x speed etc. but increased distance between cars is equal to great speed between the two cars and increase in impact.

 

[GottaBeTRD]

so if both cars are going 90mph and there within inches the lead car hits the brakes the car behind would more likely push it off the road rather than if it was furher away smashing the trunk into the front seat. hmm i wanna demonstration now lol

 

[alaskaman]

so if both cars are going 90mph and there within inches the lead car hits the brakes the car behind would more likely push it off the road rather than if it was furher away smashing the trunk into the front seat. hmm i wanna demonstration now lol

the impact is something else based upon intrusion etc.....do not attempt at home.

 

[KGB4187]

Impacts are about 2 vehicles traveling different speeds so if the lead car can only decelerate 2 mph before impact there will be very little damage. Depending on their skills and where the impact is they may or may not loose control.

Just watch some videos on youtube of police chases on the freeway. Sometimes they tap/ram to give them a wake up call.