Thanks for writing a perfectly on-target article (DN 05.20.02) explaining what Dean Kamen is trying to do with FIRST. Most reporters don't "get it" and think it's just another robot competition. I've been a volunteer regional judge for four years so I've had my annual doses of Dean Philosophy. He's right, and that's why I keep coming back.
Thanks for your candid appraisal of the current parent versus teenager car market (DN Editorial 05.06.02)! My driveway resembles the "lemon lot" while the high school lot looks remarkably like a new car dealer! I have been an engineer for 20 years, and have earned my way to a 10 year old Cadillac (bought much used), while fresh grads come to the job interview in their Mercedes, demanding more money than I make! Oh well, just getting cynical in my old age! Thanks for the spleen vent!
Thank you for a brilliantly written editorial! The first car I owned was a '71 Chevy van that had been rolled over on the roof and which burned a quart of oil every 60 miles. Totally rusted out, too—I trimmed 6 inches off the entire sheet metal bottom of the van just so that it didn't look ragged. I paid $250 and sold it for $400, after extensive repair and repainting. I learned a lot with this wreck, er, van!
Fast-forward to today, when kids seemingly only look at new cars, and wouldn't be caught dead in the old family station wagon or minivan. I'm worried that every child seems to remind me of the rich kids who blew engine after engine because he never checked the oil. Now that kid is 'every-man.' Does anyone start with a go-kart, and work up from there? Parents' heads are apparently no longer screwed on tightly.
In your excellent editorial on Girlstart (DN 04.22.02), you touched on a point that deserves more attention.
I am a mechanical engineer for a family-run manufacturing company in South Dakota. My specialty is video robots used in duct inspections. Because of this, your article caught my eye. The competition you described reminds me of the after-school enrichment class on robotics I teach at a local elementary school for grades third-to-fifth. One problem I have always had (even though this is the most popular class) is getting more girls to sign up. Of the 75+ students over the last four years, only 3 of them were girls and one of those was my daughter. I use LEGO systems and break the class into two to three groups. They each build up a unit to compete in races and mock battles similar to Robot Wars. The children go from initally being unsure to being able to make design changes on the fly when something does not work The intensity and expression on all of their faces is priceless. This is why I continue to teach the classes each spring even when my schedule hardly allows it. It is hard to end the class after six weeks, I sometimes wish it lasted all year.
It's nice to see that some places still teach science. The last science fair my kids were in was "different." The elementary school kids were really interested in what was going on, and really knew their stuff, but the high school kids who were putting on demonstrations had no idea what they were doing except blowing things up. My oldest is in high school now, and I think she will be giving her science teachers a good run.
Thank you for your Z-files article (DN 04.22.02) about the Ford Escort accident. I enjoyed the forensic mystery you presented. I do however have a doubt about your final conclusion of speed.
You have convincing evidence that the front brakes were not working. You then note that the lurch of the car forward during braking will make the braking distance worse since the CG shifts up and away from the rear wheels.
My question is: Would the car lurch forward if the front brakes were not working? Intutively, I can't imagine why the car would lurch if there were no braking force applied in the front. Please explain.
Eldho Kuriakose, Design News reader
Zirkle's response: Actually, the motion is not so much a lurching as a downward pitching motion. If you draw a free body diagram and show the (horizontal) friction forces on the tires you will see two things. First, they oppose the forward motion of the car, producing a deceleration reducing the speed. Second, they produce a moment about the center of gravity of the car, tending to lift the rear and drop the front. Friction forces on both front (if present) and rear tires produce a moment in the same direction and with the same moment arm. Thus, rear friction can produce this downward pitching motion as well as friction forces in the front.
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