Vehicle moving at a certain speed, onto a conveyor moving at same speed....

snedie

snedie

snedie

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What happens if a vehicle travelling say 30mph where to drive onto a conveyor belt running in the opposite direction at the exact same speed?

Does the momentum of the car allow it to pass over, or does it stop in its tracks?

Sounds daft but someone asked me and now I want to know :D
 
It would travel some distance along the conveyor belt, due to spatial inertia, and then slow to a relative stop.

Next question.
 
It would move forward for a while as the momentum would be a higher force than the friction between the tyres and the conveyer but would then level out and remain static.

If, however, the conveyor was made up of cogs and the car had matching cogs for wheels then it would happen immediately (or rather as soon as the back cogs connected with the conveyer)
 
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snedie said:
I should state it was already moving at 30mph before driving onto the conveyor, should that make a difference.
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Upon initial contact between the tyres and the conveyor you would expect some slippage, during which time the car will slow down while the wheels attempt to regain sufficient friction to the conveyor surface - similar to a wheelspin caused by sudden aggressive acceleration.

Over time, assuming the car continues attempting to move at 30mph, it will continue slowing until it remains stationary on the conveyor belt as the drive from the wheels will match the drive from the belt.
 
dymetrie said:
It would travel some distance along the conveyor belt, due to spatial inertia, and then slow to a relative stop.

Next question.
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That is my thinking also. Next question, would it travel as far as the car would if power was cut, ie due to air resistance etc?
 
snedie said:
That is my thinking also. Next question, would it travel as far as the car would if power was cut, ie due to air resistance etc?
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The power is cut and it doesn't go onto a conveyor? Or power cut and still goes onto the conveyor?

If it doesn't go onto the conveyor it will go further I would imagine, but that depends massively on frictional forces involved; air resistance, bearing friction, etc.

If it does still go onto the conveyor, how far it travels will depend whether the car is left in gear or not. If it's still in gear, it won't freewheel therefore it will come to a halt (and start going backwards) far sooner. If it's not in gear then it will freewheel and have a slow decrease in velocity for a short while before frictional forces (due to bearings etc) catch up on it and it starts to be carried backwards, but it still won't travel as far as it would when power is still being applied.
 
what if a boat is moving at 5knots versus a wave travelling at 5 knots ?

How bright is a light bulb travelling at the speed of light?
 
It would depend if the car is in gear or not.

If the car is in gear, then from the car's point of view, it's gone from 30mph to 60mph very suddenly, so potentially do some damage, dependant on the gearing...

If it's not in gear, and we're modelling it as just four wheels without any other engine attached, then it'll probably just keep going, but travel less distance total due to increased friction in the bearings and on the contact area of the tyres.
 
If a bear farts in the woods and no one is there to hear it does it make a sound ? And here's the profound part, does it even smell ?

/thread.

Thanks all, it's been a pleasure ! Goodbye and goodnight. ;)
 
arknor said:
what if a boat is moving at 5knots versus a wave travelling at 5 knots ?
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Bit more complex as that's a 3 dimensional problem. I think it's still the same principle, however the wave also causes the boat to rise and fall and there is a direct transfer of energy into the ship. Sure someone else will have a better explanation than that :)
 
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