Subject: Re: project Idea

From: Christopher Rose <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 6 Mar 97 21:31:54 EST

Hi,

I'll put you on the list.  The mailing group is
[email-masked] and I'll post your last suggestion to it.
However, I'm not sure I see the relation between traction and area.
Larger area means less force per unit area.  Friction is proportional
to force per unit area.  I do understand that two wheels tend to
induce more frictional drag more than one, but even there, I'm
not sure of the physics.

In any case, were you to explore this, we (or you and a mech E prof
and me) would need to understand/figure out the physics of the
situation.  Please send further explanation if you'd like (to the
group).  I may end up making sub groups by discipline, by the way if
that's a collectively good idea.

Cheers

Chris

---

From: [email-masked] (Christopher Rose)
Date: Fri, 7 Mar 97 12:59:23 EST

HI Hussan,

What I was talking about with the wheel business is that we'd need to
specifically figure out the physics involved, then look at the lore
(there's a whole body of "lore" for designing race cars that is not
necessarily based on analytic physics, but rather, experience) and see
what's what.

By analogy, there is a whole lore about throwing a baseball (curves,
sliders etc) and then somebody actually analyzed it (Terry Bahill at U
Arizona) and figured out some of the basic principles.

So, what I'm suggesting is that with anything we do we need to
understand the underlying physics in order to be a valid special
problems.

As for the car battery, that could be done.  However, I think a more
interesting project would be to design a car-theft protection device
which was more secure than what we've got now.  What I'm talking about
is that anybody can listen to your code and if they duplicate it
(radio frequency tones) they can turn off your alarm (or open your garage
door, etc).

A more secure way to do this would be to have a query-response system
where you press your button to send the unlock message and the lock
sends a question back to you which you must answer.  If you answer it
correctly, then the lock unlocks.  If not, then the alarm wails.  When
I say "you" I really mean the hand-held transmitter is formulating
answers to the questions.

This would be a lovely EE sort of project but not much ME content (the
connection of an alarm circuit to a switch which shut off battery
power or something else is pretty trivial).

So, I encourage you to start putting pencil to paper and trying to
analyze (using basic ME/Physics principles) all your ideas.  For
example, you mention handling is better with a lighter wheel.  WHY IS
THAT?  I can think of a few physical reasons (which I'm sure you can
come up with too), but I'm not really clear on the "handling" issue.

How does one define handling?  (think about this).  What` is "good"
handling.  All of these must be quantified.

Cheers,

Chris

PS: Please post responses to the group at [email-masked]
so everyone can get a crack at the special problems thought process
and so that collectively we can distill good ideas into better ones.

********************
>From [email-masked] Thu Mar  6 23:23:56 1997
Date: Thu, 6 Mar 97 23:04:18 EST
From: Hussan Peavey <[email-masked]>
To: Christopher Rose <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: project Idea

you might be right,  But if you create a wheel that was as light as to sigle
wheels, I thought it would in crease handling also... I'm not sure...I guess
we could go over that more!

Another Idea! I always tried to figure out a way to stop the theft of car....
The best Idea I came up with were, a battery that dis- ingaged when the car
was turn off... image the two connectors to the battery... that are
computerized, and can only be reingaged with a code... like on the lock of a
car! i belive this might be more feasible... but also vage in great detail!
making you help and anyones elses to confront this the better!

Subgroups sounds find
  for this idea i need a EE's help!
  more Ideas to come! need help to make them work though1

thank you Hussan!