Rules of Physics.. Anyone see the internet piece on the 10,000 bet on whether a wind turbine can push a car faster than the wind speed ? I followed the entire discussion, test run and...

MrBob Loc: lookout Mtn. NE Alabama

Anyone see the internet piece on the 10,000 bet on whether a wind turbine can push a car faster than the wind speed ? I followed the entire discussion, test run and conclusion. I will not be a spoiler and wonder what all you physics buffs think ?

DaveO Loc: Northeast CT

MrBob wrote:

Anyone see the internet piece on the 10,000 bet on whether a wind turbine can push a car faster than the wind speed ? I followed the entire discussion, test run and conclusion. I will not be a spoiler and wonder what all you physics buffs think ?

I caught it on NPR and it does make some minds wander with speculation.

MrBob Loc: lookout Mtn. NE Alabama

DaveO wrote:

I caught it on NPR and it does make some minds wander with speculation.

Hopefully you followed it end to end. Well worth watching Dave...

IBE

I learned a long time ago. There is no perpetual motion machine. The friction and drag coefficient makes it impossible.

IBE

Oops. Maybe I answered the wrong question

MrBob Loc: lookout Mtn. NE Alabama

IBE wrote:

I learned a long time ago. There is no perpetual motion machine. The friction and drag coefficient makes it impossible.

Well IBE, truth is stranger than fiction... a physics prof. from UCLA is now lighter by 10,000 in the wallet for relying on conventional thought. Test was monitored by De Grasse and Bill Nye . I can't comment on perpetual motion but maybe there are elements of energy transfer that we have not explored yet. I wish I had the math and physics background to understand what is really happening.

Bridges Loc: Memphis, Charleston SC, now Nazareth PA

MrBob wrote:

Anyone see the internet piece on the 10,000 bet on whether a wind turbine can push a car faster than the wind speed ? I followed the entire discussion, test run and conclusion. I will not be a spoiler and wonder what all you physics buffs think ?

I didn't see the clip you mention but gather from the discussion that the car travels faster than it should? Wouldn't that be the same theory as drafting in NASCAR? When two cars are inches apart, it benefits both cars. The rear car benefits from reduced drag and the front car goes faster because of the compressed air between the cars pushing it forward.

OK, I just watched the clip. Not the action I though it would be, but I find the drafting situation equally interesting as a physics problem.

MrBob Loc: lookout Mtn. NE Alabama

Bridges wrote:

I didn't see the clip you mention but gather from ... (show quote)

Hey Bridge, I am only a layman, but WHY do you think this is possible ? It seems to defy conservation of energy and maybe there are technological implications down the road... I have to go back and try and understand just what is happening.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

MrBob wrote:

Anyone see the internet piece on the 10,000 bet on whether a wind turbine can push a car faster than the wind speed ? I followed the entire discussion, test run and conclusion. I will not be a spoiler and wonder what all you physics buffs think ?

Yes. That was interesting. There's a follow-up video by a woman scientist.

Veritasium - https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=veritasium

StanMac Loc: Tennessee

I haven’t watched the video but I heard somewhere that a sailboat can go faster than the wind. Are the same forces at play in the example of the car and wind turbine as are at play with a sailboat?

https://www.kqed.org/science/8503/how-do-these-boats-sail-faster-than-the-wind

Stan

SteveR Loc: Michigan

Did the wind turbine fall down on the very back of the car?

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

StanMac wrote:

I haven’t watched the video but I heard somewhere that a sailboat can go faster than the wind. Are the same forces at play in the example of the car and wind turbine as are at play with a sailboat?

https://www.kqed.org/science/8503/how-do-these-boats-sail-faster-than-the-wind

Stan

The rear wheels are involved somehow. Watch the video done by the woman who made a small version of the car. Link above.

letmedance Loc: Walnut, Ca.

The rear wheels drive the turbine not the wind. The wind pushes the car forward causing the rear wheels to turn driving the turbine which propel the car faster as it bites into the prevailing wind.

SalvageDiver Loc: Huntington Beach CA

Very interesting. Another very clever use of leverage. There are other very clever uses of leverage, such as ram pumps, which I learned about recently. These are pumps that can pump water uphill, indefinitely, without the use of any external power supply. Sounds like another perpetual motion machine?

Ollieboy

IMO anything involving "Bill Nye the science guy" has a credibility problem.