Quote:
Originally Posted by Zeus
Lol @ tonk, Brian, Craig.
Triple post within minutes, all correct. 
Now that you are warmed up, here is a real challenge.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izrNv4nMxAg
Think it's possible? Without CGI that is.
Vitals
Mercedes SLS AMG
420 kW/571 hp peak output, 650 Nm of torque
1620 kg
0 to 100 km/h in 3.8 seconds and has a top speed of 317 km/h
Tunnel appears approx. 30 feet in circumference, length is tough to determine.
Downdraft, centrifugal forces...
Possible? Get the scientific calculators out... |
It's absolutely impossible to generate more downdraft than the weight of the car without some type of wing attached to it.
Therefore, the only way it works is if the tunnel has an arc that basically follows the curvature of the earth.
The problem with this solution is the difficulty of the timing in getting to this arc. If the arc starts too early, the vehicle goes airborne.
The second problem is the fact that the conventional curve of the tunnel (to the right) would need to reverse itself (to the left) at the precise point where the vehicle reaches the apex and is upside down.
A tunnel could be constructed to achieve this result, but there would be many trashed vehicles and dead drivers until the timing was mastered.
I get a radius of the arc of 2611 feet if the vehicle is moving at maximum speed. The forces generated would just barely match it's weight at that radius. The rather large number is somewhat surprising............maybe someone else can verify it.