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physics question


John Eucist

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Unrelated to eucs. If a car maintains a constant steering angle and turning and there is no new acceleration/power applied (cruising in neutral at any speed) is it possible for the car to complete a circle? Assume that the car will not flip over or skid and that the ground is flat and not banked or that there are any rails.

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Its a question of friction I think, theoretically it will drive several circles (e.g. on a Superconductor in a vacuum), but not sure if it completes one full circle in the real world as air and tirefriction will kill a lot of momentum.

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6 hours ago, John Eucist said:

If a car maintains a constant steering angle and turning and there is no new acceleration/power applied (cruising in neutral at any speed) is it possible for the car to complete a circle?

I guess the main determining factor is rolling resistance. A related first question which is easier to answer and probably quite helpful to know: what is the coast to stop distance on a straight line as a function of speed?

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I would think the "is it possible" refers to the free choice of speed and radius and tire and maybe car type, but not the free choice of friction or physical laws. The OP will clarify. BTW, without friction, the question seems to be rather trivial to answer independently of radius and initial speed.

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42 minutes ago, Mono said:

I would think the "is it possible" refers to the free choice of speed and radius and tire and maybe car type, but not the free choice of friction or physical laws. The OP will clarify. BTW, without friction, the question seems to be rather trivial to answer independently of radius and initial speed.

Assume (an unrealistic) scenario of perfect friction between tires and the ground (no skidding) but zero friction everywhere else (wheel bearing, axle, etc.) and no air resistance. However, all other laws of physics applies. Can the car complete a circular turn?

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1 hour ago, John Eucist said:

Assume (an unrealistic) scenario of perfect friction between tires and the ground (no skidding) but zero friction everywhere else (wheel bearing, axle, etc.) and no air resistance. However, all other laws of physics applies. Can the car complete a circular turn?

You are looking for the case without rolling resistance? Then I don't see any reason why the car does not continue to roll forever, thereby completing an unbounded number of circles. Or are you interested in the amount of energy lost to deviate from a straight line? I think this would still need to be accounted for under friction/rolling resistance. Or are you interested in the deviation from a perfect circular shape? If you tell us where this question comes from it is probably easier to understand what you are precisely asking for.

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6 hours ago, Mono said:

You are looking for the case without rolling resistance? Then I don't see any reason why the car does not continue to roll forever, thereby completing an unbounded number of circles. Or are you interested in the amount of energy lost to deviate from a straight line? I think this would still need to be accounted for under friction/rolling resistance. Or are you interested in the deviation from a perfect circular shape? If you tell us where this question comes from it is probably easier to understand what you are precisely asking for.

Yes I was more interested in "the amount of energy lost to deviate from a straight line" (but not due to air and rolling resistance). The question doesn't "come from " anywhere. It's just something I thought of and unsure of but felt like I had to find out. So it seems that the answer is that it can make circles forever if no air and rolling resistance. What about in realistic terms of a real car with real-life friction and resistance? Can that typically do one circle under ideal (but realistic) conditions?

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a ball on a string atttached to a stick can turn circles without having to rely on friction

without friction on the road surface a car will go in a straight line

what you looking for is a mag lev kind of device, but this only works on dedicated 'roads' with induction coils in it

 

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1 minute ago, Jurgen said:

without friction on the road surface a car will go in a straight line

My "unrealistic scenario" was that the tires have perfect friction with the road but everything else in the car like the wheel bearings and axle has zero friction (as well as no air resistance). Gears are no longer engaged ("neutral") when the circle starts.

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