3 ms·
You seem to be confused between acceleration and escape velocity. A Tesla Model S can accelerate at 1.14g while going from 0-60mph, but it can't continue that
by dsr_ 8y ago
You seem to be confused between acceleration and escape velocity.
A Tesla Model S can accelerate at 1.14g while going from 0-60mph, but it can't continue that acceleration for long.
A dragster can accelerate at 5g for almost a second. It won't get into orbit if you send it off a ramp.
The train with a centripetal acceleration of 2g will not launch anything into orbit unless it can magically keep providing that acceleration to the vehicle.
On the other side, you don't need to accelerate particularly hard if you want escape velocity, you just need to get up to that speed after accounting for atmospheric drag. You could launch a winged rocket that accelerates at 1.12meters/s^2 -- in ten thousand seconds or so, it would be up to escape velocity.
- shawnz 8y agoI don't think the parent is confused, I think they are talking about the velocity you'd reach after being subjected to that acceleration over the whole 2000km track.
- jlebrech 8y ago1G for 2000km is really really fast IMHO.
- logfromblammo 8y ago1G over 2000 km gets you to 6261 m/s, after 639 s. That isn't escape velocity. That isn't even orbital velocity. But Fortaleza, Brazil, to Dakar, Senegal, is about 3100 km. 1G over that distance gets you to 7795 m/s, after 795 s. That can almost get you to a LEO, with a 40 degree inclination. You'd still need to overcome atmospheric drag. Fortaleza, Brazil, to Libreville, Gabon, is 5350 km. 1G over that distance gets you to 11240 m/s, after 1045 s. That will get you into an orbit with 4 degree inclination, and after accounting for drag and the angular velocity at the equator, you might even still be at escape velocity after exiting the atmosphere.