3 ms·
In terms of kinetic energy, adding 20% to the mass is like speeding up from 50 to 55. 40% is like speeding up to 60. If you are worried about vehicle weight,
by maxerickson 5y ago
In terms of kinetic energy, adding 20% to the mass is like speeding up from 50 to 55.
40% is like speeding up to 60.
If you are worried about vehicle weight, worry more about speed.
- cloverich 5y agoThey are heavier and faster (acceleration).
- qchris 5y agoCompletely aside from the point you're trying to make: it's a pet peeve of mine when people try to describe collisions in terms of kinetic energy. It's the wrong metric--the important conserved quantity in collisions is momentum, which is simply linear mass*velocity (not quadratic velocity). After that, it becomes a matter of calculating the rate of momentum transfer, or impulse. That's why crumple zones are important for vehicle-vehicle collisions--not because they turn kinetic energy into a stored form of potential energy in deformation, but because they drastically decrease the rate at which momentum changes.
- maxerickson 5y agoUltimately you want your body to collide as in-elastically as possible with restraints. The crumple zone spreads that energy transfer out over a longer period of time.