Hello!!! This has always confused me since I was a kid.
How exactly do modern cars, or older steam locomotives, move when they have multiple tons of metal sitting on top of them? Like how does all of that mass sit on an axel and the axel is still able to rotate at high speeds? I’ve seen train axels/wheels in person and it’s basically a large metal rod with a wheel on each end. Does the force of the engine overcome the friction of all of that weight?
Thank you in advance!
For anyone else who is curious about this in the future, several of the comments below were super helpful. I was also able to find this video on YouTube as a visual demonstration based on the leads these guys provided!
https://youtu.be/lIEHscqWJAk
In: 6
they only need enough power to overcome friction and wind resistance. you might be surprised how little power cars actually need just to move.
>does all of that mass sit on an axel and the axel is still able to rotate at high speeds?
this is exactly what happens. the weight is loaded on springs to give a more comfortable ride, but the axles do the work.
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