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Re: A bumpy ride



-----Original Message-----
From: William J. Larson <Bill_Larson@COMPUSERVE.COM>
To: PHYS-L@LISTS.NAU.EDU <PHYS-L@LISTS.NAU.EDU>
Date: Saturday, November 21, 1998 4:35 PM
Subject: A bumpy ride


A student asked me why bumps feel less bumpy when
the car is traveling at a higher speed.

It's because if you go over a bump that is 5 cm high,
you go up the 5 cm in half the time if you are driving at
twice the speed, so your acceleration is twice as great..

If the acceleration is twice as great ---and if we respond to
accelerations --- then the original question remains: why do bumps feel LESS
bumpy when the car is traveling faster?

We'll see if we can measure the accelerations and the jerks (da/dt) perhaps
the answer lies there.

Br. Robert W. Harris
Catholic Memorial High School
rwharris@cath-mem.org
http://www.cath-mem.org/cath-mem/physics/contents.htm