BOBSLED PHYSICS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hankins Perdue Chris Caden
Brief History of the Bobsled
Although sports in the snow are popular in northern countries, bobsledding is relatively new. It all started with two sled skeletons being attached with a steering mechanism affixed to the front. The bobsleigh has evovled exponentially over the years and now boasts extreme aerodynamic designs and stow away push handles.
From this ^
To This v !
Bobsled Pilot POV Calgary
The Start of the Run
As soon as the the sledders begin their 50 meter run to gain speed, they experience forces from gravity, the snow they are on, and air itself.
Sledders must run to gain speed before jumping into their sleigh because this is their only opputunity to gain speed. Newtons 1st law of motion says that an object at rest tends to stay at rest unless acted upon by another force. This means that they must give their sled a push to get it to start moving. This is also the only chance they have to gain force, the rest of the run is spent trying to maintain it.
The Middle of the Run
The middle of the run is a battle against the forces of physics. The sledders are fighting to be as aerodynamic as possible. If they create too much air resistance they will go very little speed and not have a fast time. They must also turn their sled to create as little resistance as possible when going into a turn.
They must increase their centripetal force so they will increase velocity when leaving a turn. You can see in the photo below a sledder entering a turn. While leaving the turn he will have increased velocity.
The End of the Run
When sledders get to the end of the run they stop trying to accelerate and increase air resistance by lifting their heads. As the go along the end of the track, gravity pulls them down, increasing their friction with the ground, quickly slowing them.
To honor the Jamaican bobsled team, who made the winter Olympics in Sochie a reggae beat will be included below. (ignore the stupid image on the beat. I promise I don't do drugs.)
FREE REGGAE BEAT