> Hi: > An interesting discourse on what keeps a train on the track can be found > at:
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=WAwDvbIfkos > Dr. Richard Feynman, a Nobel prize physicist, gives a short lecture on > what keeps trains on the track and mentions the fact that flanges are a safety device, and not really the main reason why trains stay on the track. (FWIW: I've listened to the above a long time ago.) And the theory of time slowing down as we approach the speed of light is fascinating to. Sort of hard to prove, though. Again, we're not getting it. The wheel taper helps keep the wheels centered on the rail, and also aids in curves. In a PERFECT WORLD (i.e. string-straight tanget track with cross level measured in the thousands of an inch, curves less than 1 degree and super-elevated accuracy to within thousands of an inch, etc), that MIGHT be sufficient. BUT... in PRACTICE, the above will NOT do it. You needn't look any further than a curve on a typical railroad to see curve-worn rails. Folks, the flanges are much more than a safety device at the practical level. Theroretical level: Perhaps not. Practical level: Absolutely. Okay... I shouldn't have allow myself to get caught up in this, but it's hard to sit by and read of theories when there is little, if any, hands-on experience backing up such dissertations by Nobel prize winners/etc and other mathmeticians/physists/etc. It's all speculation, computations, and rhetoric until proven correct in practice. With that I will bow out. Have fun discussing it! Andre Ming ------------------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/S-Scale/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/S-Scale/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: [email protected] [email protected] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [email protected] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
