Russell McMahon <PICLIST@MITVMA.MIT.EDU> wrote:

> At 45 degrees, tan X becomes 1 and resistable deceleration = 1g.
> At backwards tip angles beyond this the resistable force rapidly
> increases (as tan X goes to infinity as X approaches 90 degrees)
> BUT there is never any need to exceed this angle greatly unless
> you can get a coefficient of friction greater than 1 at the wheels.
> .... In fact angles greater than 45 degrees or in fact greater
> than the available "friction angle" will result in falling over
> backwards as the friction at the wheels is unable to react the
> decelerating force.

Russell:

This would be true for smooth objects; in fact, it was this reasoning
that led people to believe for a long time that exceeding 1G of
acceleration in a race car was impossible.  On any given Sunday
during race season, though, drag racers -- and, geez, just about all
other racers -- routinely accelerate at much greater than 1G.

Rubber tires on pavement have a coefficient of friction (much)
greater than 1 for two reasons:  Large-scale, they deform around and
mesh like gears with small imperfections in the pavement; small-
scale, there's an interaction at the molecular level that makes the
tires bond to the surface.

Other than that minor detail, the info you posted seems correct.

-Andy


=== Andrew Warren - fastfwd@ix.netcom.com

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