Chronology Current Month Current Thread Current Date
[Year List] [Month List (current year)] [Date Index] [Thread Index] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Date Prev] [Date Next]

Re: steering

At 12:34 AM 11/21/2003, Ludwik, you wrote:
//
The front wheels of a traditional car are not powered;
they roll along the direction of minimum resistance.

//

The act of steering a wheel changes the orientation
of its plane. Once this happens the direction of minimum
resistance no longer coincides with the direction along
which the center of mass was moving. That seems to
be essential. The center of the car (via bearings, etc.)
turns as if it were "trying to minimize something." That
is how turning can possibly be described. But what
this "something" is?

///

Ludwik Kowalski


This seems like an awful lot of hand-wringing about turning
a car. I am happy to visualize the steered wheels
(and the driven wheels too)providing a brute force
sideward push, at the cost of scrubbing more or less
rubber off the tread.
I find no need for a minimization model.

Am I missing something?



Brian Whatcott Altus OK Eureka!