The Physics of a Rolling Rubber Band

sciencehabit writes "Modern physics can get complicated. Sure, researchers know exactly what forces act on a ball rolling down an incline — an experiment that helped Galileo develop universal laws for movement and acceleration. But what happens when a deformable shape like a rubber band rolls around? A new study reveals that the faster it goes, the more squashed it gets (video included)."

Comments

Delight to read...

[ZeroExistenZ]

But what happens when a deformable shape like a rubber band rolls around?

... the article sounds like the things I used to wonder about and do during boring classes in highschool.

Re:Delight to read...

[jamesh]

... the article sounds like the things I used to wonder about and do during boring classes in highschool.

Same here, except I was more like "I wonder if I can hit that kids sticking-out ears with a rubber band from here", without thinking through what would happen if i _did_ hit them (which should have been obvious in retrospect... it was for that reason I sat at the back).

Re:Delight to read...

[Spad]

I like to imagine that all scientists operate on this principle. They sit around doing boring paperwork until one of them says "I wonder what happens when a deformable shape like a rubber band rolls around?", to which one of the others replies "Quickly, to the lab!" and they all run off to investigate it.

Re:Delight to read...

[Scatterplot]

No, it depends on how fast he was rolling. I think.

Re:Physics...

[Anonymusing]

Physics is pretty cool.

I liked this quote from the article:

As far as the potential applications, Clanet waxes futuristic. "I can imagine [designing] a car. The faster it goes, the more it deforms and the less friction it has with surrounding air, so it can go even faster. It would be a fantastic car."

A car that changes its shape as it drives? Getting shorter, even? "Ouch, slow down, you hit my head!"

Automobile safety experts would have a field day with that.

Re:Brakes, please. Please?

[Anonymous Coward]

Spellcheckers can't fix homophones.

I can tell you have your spellchecker on, though I think you ment to write "homophobes".

I too believe they should be fixed.

Re:Wow, interesting!

[Spad]

...due to centrifugal force.

My high school physics teacher used to electrocute (With a handheld generator made from a rotary pencil sharpener) people for saying that; also for misspelling accelerate or satellite.

This requires Yakety Sax

[cangrande]

All science videos are improved by Yakety Sax.

Miracle

[JustOK]

Fucking rubber bands, how do they work?

Re:Physics...

[VolciMaster]

I love Ben Rich's quote on that: "no one's been wing-walking at Mach 3 to verify that assumption" :)

Re:Brakes, please. Please?

[Bromskloss]

Cars have brakes. "Car breaks" means it stops working because of mechanical or electrical failure.

I honestly thought he was talking about car crashes and even though that was a strange way of saying it, I convinced myselft that is was physically sound.

Re:Brakes, please. Please?

[Anonymous Coward]

Tell that to two Slashdot users whose who's are wrong too. They're messing up their you'res while your there's are perfect.

Re:Brakes, please. Please?

[boxwood]

a bit of tape stuck over the bottom left corner can fix a homophone.

Re:Brakes, please. Please?

[PiSkyHi]

I think the key to this is that when a car brayx, it slows down and will eventually stop moving.

Obvious

[wcrowe]

A new study reveals that the faster it goes, the more squashed it gets.

Well duh. Of course it does. Anyone who has watched a Roadrunner cartoon knows that.