Fun Facts

Yes they do.  Wide tires which are used by dragsters come in different sturdiness or durometer ratings.  If the tires are soft, there will be more initial friction.  You will observe that the use of these wide tires has no importance with the friction.

When the car is in full stop, the tires’ diameter is small.  Once the tires are rolling, they were made in such a way that the centripetal force allow the diameter of the tire to expand.  This causes some favorable effects to shift the final drive gear ratio to higher speeds.

Racers are meticulous in determining the size of tires to have an optimum increase in diameter over a specific rotational acceleration of the wheel.  This makes the race avail of the very limited narrow torque curve of their engines which are moving the gears frequently.  This reason is more acceptable than the width/friction reason.

Friction is surface independent in some cases but not in all aspects especially for tires.  Based on engineering, the friction force is equivalent to the force giving pressures to the 2 surfaces together.  This may be applicable only to certain conditions and objects.  The constant factor of proportion is called coefficient of friction.

The coefficient of friction depends on the component and condition of both surfaces having friction.  If the surface becomes hard and adherent, that means that friction theory is not working.  There must be large friction forces if there is lack of forces pushing the 2 surfaces together.  When the surfaces adhere together when you force them to separate, a negative static friction coefficient may occur.

Therefore, the forces of friction of the tires are not related to the size.
Drag racers have 1 speed transmission that slips the clutch during the race.  Dragsters prefer the right width, height and tire compound that provides the maximum friction during the race.

Therefore it is clear that the forces of friction of the tires are not related to the size.  The reason why tires used in drag racing are wide is to make them firm not to slip when spinning and the car is heading to different directions.  What measures when the tires tend to slip is the point when static friction is overcome by sliding friction.

Therefore that force must widen the area of the tires.  The wider and bigger the tires are, the bigger is the force against slipping and therefore the faster the racing car accelerates.

During burnout, a melting on the surface can be felt but wide tires neutralize slippery concrete in general.  This brief burnout puts some water to the tires to make the tire tacky and also takes out dirt in the surface of the tires.  At times, wings are installed to expert fuel dragsters that results in a downward force.

This downward force can go as high as 8000 pounds on a 2000 pound engine when travelling 300 mph.  Thus tire slipping is not considered a problem in high acceleration because the tires are made stable to neutralize slipping.

Fun Stuff car speed, drag racing, speed

This is a statement asked by the comedian Steven Wright that this author will attempt to answer.

First, what is the speed of light. It is a constant at which a photon travels from one point to another. This rate of travel is universally known as 299,792,458 meters per second. A photon travels at this rate through the vacuum of space without any impedance. Since a photon has no weight it can also be thought to maintain this speed even within dense atmospheres.

Now the summarization of special relativity and how it answers the above question. Remember first that movement is relative. If we are in a moving vehicle and jump we do not, all of a sudden, fly backwards. We are moving relative to the speed of the vehicle we are in. Therefore, comes the first possible way to explain the question. Since the car is moving at the speed of light the photons projected from the head lights would be moving at this same relative speed before being projected out into space. Therefore, of course the lights would work, because there actual speed would be the speed of light plus the speed of light that they throw off. Another explanation could be no they do not work. The speed of light is a constant. If something reaches this speed a photon could not individually exceed that speed and so would not exit the lamp. Relativity basically means that we see things relative to our position. Movement in these terms is a concept based on position. We could say that we do not move, but the universe moves around us and be totally justified, despite the scientific evidence. Relativity would then have us believe that the car could move at the speed of light and have its head lights shine, or not. It depends on your perspective. If you are in the car moving quickly along, you possibly perceive no movement. Therefore, because there is no relative movement the photons would exit the head lights.

It can be stated in several different ways, and intelligently argued, but the fact is that no one knows because we haven’t gone that fast yet.

A few inane facts.

• A car can reach a rate exceeding the speed of sound (343 meter per second) but is still 874,030 times slower than a photon.

• A photon is a particle with no apparent mass. It has the characteristics of both a particle and a wave.

• There are two theories of relativity. Special relativity has to do with movement and general relativity speculates on gravity.

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