I don’t know if this is technically a physics or an engineering question so I put it as physics but if it’s more in the engineering section feel free to let me know.
But I watched a movie called Dragged across concrete and there’s a bit where it’s demonstrated that a security vehicle can has solid rubber tyres. I thought a vehicle with solid rubber tyres would be too unweildy to operate. I’m not a physicist or mechanical engineer. Is that a fiction solid rubber tyres or are they actually used on day to day security vehicles on conventional roads?
In: Physics
Solid tyres do work, they were for years the only type of tyres, and in a number of use cases they’re the better option. They’re tough, they don’t puncture, last forever and a day, all of which mean that in harsh environments, or situations where damage is a distinct possibility (e.g. when under attack), they have significant advantages.
However, as a converse to this, they’re heavy, they don’t adapt to surfaces so can give a harsh ride, they can’t go to particularly high speeds (accellerating a rotating mass gets a lot harder with increased weight).
Putting these features together, solid tyres are the better choice for construction vehicles, agricultural vehicles, and, in some cases, security vehicles. There are also vehicles that have a sort of hybrid – pneumatic (air-filled) outer layers, with a thick solid rubber core around the rim of the wheel to allow them to move at a reasonable speed if the pneumatic layer is punctured.
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