Quote:
Originally Posted by TAG UR IT
I could easily see magnets working in place of shocks. Kinda like reversing them to where they push each other away, right? Don't they already do that sort of stuff w/ roller coasters and what-not? I know they use magnets for the brakes. And, isn't there some train that rides on a cushion of air (in terms) because it's all magnets that kind of make it hover?? I know someone here knows what I"m talking about.
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*Warning Science Lesson*
Yes, the roller coasters and trains rely on magnetic levitation, there are magnetic brakes that never lock up and never wear out (awful at low speed though). Some cars use an oil with iron beads in it to make the ride stiffer or softer depending on your mode (GM calls it Magnetic Selective Ride), it gets activated through an electromagnetic field and changes the viscosity of the oil. But the difference between all these systems and how Bose works is that they are all known as passive systems. Once their state is set, their behavior is governed by a fairly simple equation. Active systems adapt and adjust to the current conditions.
Oh, and strictly magnetic shock absorbers would not work very well. The force exerted by a magnet is inversly proportional to the square of the distance. So, cut the distance in half, quadruple the force. This is different from both springs and shocks. Shocks are proportional to velocity, faster the movement, more force. Springs are proportional to distance, double the distance, double the force. Combined, shocks and springs work very well. I won't get into the dynamics of second order control systems, but basically, there is a good reason why cars have both shock absorbers and springs.
Using magnets will create very awkward driving dynamics. Each magnashock (cool new word eh?) would need to support say 900 lbs of weight, and have total suspension travel of . . . 5 inchs? thats just a guess. If its off, it doesn't really matter. If you run over a rock thats an inch and a half high, those nifty magnashocks will then exert about a ton of force in responce. that will plant the wheel back down and lift the front of the car up. Problem is, there is nothing to really slow down the bouncing. So it would keep going on and on, changed only by the next bump in the road and small frictional losses. Not very fun. Plus, the more weight you add to the car, the stiffer the ride gets. that makes things even worse
Maglev trains work because there are no bumps in the track, and they are so massive and have so much inertia that it would require a large change to cause any sort of verticle movement. MSR suspension only uses magnetism to change the properties of the fluid in the shocks, not as a magnashock. Magnetic brakes are really cool and are great for slowing things down from extremely high speeds. I sort of understand how they work, but its very difficult to explain. I will ask my electromechanical energy conversions prof tomorrow night. see if he can put it into simple terms for me. Plus, I'm really tired now. that took a while to write