Alt-BEAM Archive

Message #05926



To: Beam List beam@corp.sgi.com, Grandpa Budd bbudd@nccn.net, Chiu-Yuan Fang chiumanfu@home.com, Heather JazzyPad@aol.com
From: Senior kyled@cruzers.com
Date: Wed, 01 Sep 1999 15:46:15 -0600
Subject: [alt-beam] hUFO goes online!


Hello everyone!

My entry for Chiu's contest has been finished for a while but Chiu has
graciously uploaded my video tape as avi's so I have made a web page for
my entry, hUFO (huffoe).

http://www.cruzers.com/~kyled/hufo

Hope you like it,
Kyle



5927 Thu, 2 Sep 1999 12:00:38 +1000 (EST) [alt-beam] Re: hUFO goes online! beam@corp.sgi.com (mailing list) Benjamin Edward Hitchcock In the explanation of how this one works, it is stated that:
"... Every movement will be countered as the pole goes to the other side,
and the thing will sort of wobble around in a circle. What if we were to
isolate one part of the cycle, and push the weight out twice as far as it
allready is? The larger diameter will make for a larger force, and the
whole thing will tend towards that direction. ..."

Hmmm. Sounds suspiciously like that engine that was brought onto the list
a few months ago, with a mixed reaction.

I still can't see how it would work. My year 11 physics, my year 12
Engineering science, and four years at uni say that there's no way on
earth you can manufacture a net force internally to a system. In other
words, if there's nothing to push against, you ain't going anywhere. This
doesn't stop a new invention from working, of course, but when all the
evidence points otherwise...

The thing I have a problem with is the statement that when you push teh
weight out, you will get a larger force. Hang on! When you push the
weight out, you rotate in a larger diameter circle, right? So the radius
is LARGER for a LARGER force. Right? According to your logic?

So according to this logic, when you want to take a corner really fast in
your car, you shouldn't start wide, hit the apex, then exit wide as all
the formula 1 drivers do, you should in fact turn as tightly as possible,
because this makes for less of a radius, so that means less lateral force.
Race drivers get coached to make the radius of the turn as large as
possible (well, that's mostly what goes on, if you have a powerful engine
then a different strategy
applies, but all the race books I have read teach the maximising of the
radius as the first lesson) so that the lateral force on the tyres is
minimised.

I guess I must just be dumb. When I turn a corner in my car, the more I
turn the steering wheel, the more force I feel pushing me to the outside
of the corner. Maybe smarter people feel the opposite effect - the more
they turn the wheel, the less force they feel.

I wonder how much force they feel when the wheel is straight? An infinite
amount? In both directions? Can someone enlighten me? ;)

Ben

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