Questions About Motorcycle Speed, Short Circuit & Resistance

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In summary, we discussed the concept of measuring speed while riding a motorcycle inside a moving train, the effects of a short circuit and infinite current, the possibility of having a high resistance in a circuit to stop it from working, and the equal voltage distribution in a series circuit. We also touched on the relativistic velocity addition formula and the potential discharge of a battery when connected to a voltmeter with high resistance.
  • #1
alexmath
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1.assume i am riding a motorcycle at 100km/h, but i ride the motorcycle inside a very long train which is moving at also 100km/h. What speed do i have reported to the world? 200km/h?
2.what happens at a short circuit? practically there is no resistance so the value of the current is infinity? therefore 3v battery can generate infinite current if the wires have 0 resistance?
3.is ot possible to have such a great resistance inside a circuit in order to stop a circuit from working? same as an open circuit?

Thank you!
 
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  • #2
1.assume i am riding a motorcycle at 100km/h, but i ride the motorcycle inside a very long train which is moving at also 100km/h. What speed do i have reported to the world? 200km/h?
If you ride in the same direction, measure ground speed and neglect special relativity, yes.

2.what happens at a short circuit? practically there is no resistance so the value of the current is infinity? therefore 3v battery can generate infinite current if the wires have 0 resistance?
The battery has an internal resistance, which limits current. Without resistance and in a static (time-independent) setup, you cannot have a voltage.
3.is ot possible to have such a great resistance inside a circuit in order to stop a circuit from working? same as an open circuit?
An open circuit is just a huge resistance at some point.
 
  • #3
What means at some point? When the circuit is open... there is no current, but when there is a resistence, the current is present.

4) If we have 3 in series... why every bulb gets the same voltage? Why not the first one takes more, second one less, and last one even less?
 
  • #4
when the circuit is 'open', it means that there is air separating two ends of the wire. But it is possible to run a current across the air (for example, think of lightning, well technically it might turn the air into plasma first) But the point is that there is no such thing as a truly closed circuit, because we can think of the air as 'closing' the circuit, but since the resistance of air is so great, we can for all practical purposes say that that the circuit is 'open'.

the rule about parallel voltage... there are several ways to 'reason it'. One way is to think about the potential at each point in the circuit. the change in potential around any closed loop must be zero (otherwise, it wouldn't make sense, because we assign the potential to have a particular value at each point in space, so it cannot be defined to have two different values at the same point!)
 
  • #5
If we have 3 in series... why every bulb gets the same voltage? Why not the first one takes more, second one less, and last one even less?

That only happens if the bulbs have the same resistance.

The current flowing through all the bulbs is the same because they are in series. At each node there is nowhere for the current to go except through the next bulb. If the bulbs have the same resistance and current then the voltage drop must be the same due to Ohms law (V=IR).
 
  • #6
"1.assume i am riding a motorcycle at 100km/h, but i ride the motorcycle inside a very long train which is moving at also 100km/h. What speed do i have reported to the world? 200km/h?"

I have a question too regarding this:
If we use enough decimals, would really the bike ride at 200km/h? Say that the train is moving at 99.9999999999% of the speed of light. Would the bike ride at 99.9999999999% of the speed of light + 100km/h?

Vidar
 
  • #7
Low-Q said:
"1.assume i am riding a motorcycle at 100km/h, but i ride the motorcycle inside a very long train which is moving at also 100km/h. What speed do i have reported to the world? 200km/h?"

I have a question too regarding this:
If we use enough decimals, would really the bike ride at 200km/h? Say that the train is moving at 99.9999999999% of the speed of light. Would the bike ride at 99.9999999999% of the speed of light + 100km/h?

Vidar
If you are going a significant fraction of c then you need to use the relativistic velocity addition formula:
http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/relativ/einvel2.html

Note, for low velocities this expression is approximately the same as simple addition of velocities.
 
  • #8
About 199.999999999998285 km/h in the example ;).
As you can see, relativistic effects are negligible for real trains and motorcycles.
 
  • #9
thank you for answering! At question 3... if all battery have tiny resistance, that means if you wire a battery without any rezistor in the circuit, the battery will eventualy discharge. Right?
 
  • #10
alexmath said:
thank you for answering! At question 3... if all battery have tiny resistance, that means if you wire a battery without any rezistor in the circuit, the battery will eventualy discharge. Right?

It will discharge pretty quickly, yes. You can actually burn out wires or cause the battery to explode if you don't have any resistance in your circuit, so don't connect a piece of wire between two battery terminals.
 
  • #11
last question, i promise... if i want to see what voltage has a battery, and i keep it connected with the voltmeter, this as well will drain up the battery right? because the voltmeter has a very high resistence.
 
  • #12
alexmath said:
last question, i promise... if i want to see what voltage has a battery, and i keep it connected with the voltmeter, this as well will drain up the battery right? because the voltmeter has a very high resistence.

I believe so. It will just take much longer than wiring the terminals together with a piece of wire thanks to the far greater resistance. Wiki's article on voltmeters said they usually have a 10 megaohm resistor in them.
 

1. What is the average speed of a motorcycle?

The average speed of a motorcycle can vary greatly depending on factors such as engine size, road conditions, and rider skill. However, on average, most modern motorcycles can reach speeds of around 80-100 mph.

2. How does a short circuit occur in a motorcycle?

A short circuit occurs in a motorcycle when there is a direct connection between the positive and negative terminals of the battery. This can happen due to damaged wiring, faulty electrical components, or improper installation.

3. What is resistance and why is it important in motorcycles?

Resistance is the measure of how much a material or component resists the flow of electricity. In motorcycles, resistance is important because it helps regulate the flow of electricity and prevents circuits from overheating or failing.

4. Can I increase the speed of my motorcycle by changing its resistance?

Changing the resistance in a motorcycle's electrical system will not directly affect its speed. However, adjusting the resistance can help improve the overall performance of the motorcycle's electrical components, which may indirectly impact its speed.

5. How can I test the resistance of my motorcycle's electrical components?

The most accurate way to test the resistance of a motorcycle's electrical components is by using a multimeter. This device measures the flow of electricity through a circuit and can help identify any potential issues with resistance in the system.

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