What is Wheels: Definition and 207 Discussions

In its primitive form, a wheel is a circular block of a hard and durable material at whose center has been bored a hole through which is placed an axle bearing about which the wheel rotates when torque is applied to the wheel about its axis. The wheel and axle assembly can be considered one of the six simple machines. When placed vertically under a load-bearing platform or case, the wheel turning on the horizontal axle makes it possible to transport heavy loads. This arrangement is the main topic of this article, but there are many other applications of a wheel addressed in the corresponding articles: when placed horizontally, the wheel turning on its vertical axle provides the spinning motion used to shape materials (e.g. a potter's wheel); when mounted on a column connected to a rudder or to the steering mechanism of a wheeled vehicle, it can be used to control the direction of a vessel or vehicle (e.g. a ship's wheel or steering wheel); when connected to a crank or engine, a wheel can store, release, or transmit energy (e.g. the flywheel). A wheel and axle with force applied to create torque at one radius can translate this to a different force at a different radius, also with a different linear velocity.

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  1. madmike159

    Breaking with Turning Wheels: The Science Behind Its Effectiveness

    Why is breaking with the wheels turning more effective than when the wheel locks up? Is it because there is more friction between the breaks and the disks (or drums) than there is between the road and tyre, or am I missing something.
  2. matthyaouw

    PF PHOTO CONTEST - Wheels (June 7-13)

    Wheels Wheels are the theme this week. Sorry it's late. Contest Rules: 1. Any digital photo or digitally-scanned photo relevant to the theme will be accepted within the contest period. In case there's a gray area, or you're not sure if the picture is suitable, check with me first. 2...
  3. daniel_i_l

    Why do car wheels spin backwards

    Anyone who's looked at a spinning car wheel or fan notices that sometimes it looks as if the wheel/fan is spinning backwards. I was once told that this is because of the fact that the light shining on it, coming from an electric light source, turns on and off at a certain frequency (~50Hz) and...
  4. H

    Formula for differential wheels translation/rotation

    Hi, I'm building a simple 2D simulator for mobile robots, and I'd like to be able to determine the translation and rotation of a 2-wheeled simulated robot based on simple kinematics (no forces, friction etc). So, given these: - angular velocity of each wheel (rad/s) - wheel radius (m) -...
  5. S

    Role of rear wheels in steering

    Rear wheels' rigid positioning parallel to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle somehow makes the vehicle (two as well as a four wheeler) go around a curve when steered. If the rear wheel is hinged to the frame making deflection about the vertical axis possible (Like the wheels in TV stands)...
  6. L

    Why Do Wheels Make Moving Easier?

    I know that moving things is a lot easier with wheels, and I suspect it has something to do with the friction on the wheels versus the friction on just a regular sliding object. But how do you prove, with the laws and equations of physics, that it takes less force to move something when there...
  7. W

    Larger wheels make load easiervto move?

    hello everyone.i'm a disabled; by a surprise stroke at 49 forcibly retired54 year old guy who has been able to figure out or understand almost everything related to home construction in my 25 years as home owner having built on 640 sq ft single handedly from the ground up to...
  8. S

    How far behind the front wheels is the center of mass located?

    To determine the location of the center of mass of a car, the car is driven over a scale. When the front wheels are over the scale, the weight recorded by the scale is 5.70 x 103 N. When the rear wheels are over the scale, the scale reads 6.30 x 103 N. The distance between the front and rear...
  9. A

    Effect of wheels turning at different speed?

    Hi, I'm new here. I've something in mind for sometime now, that is what happen if a car has its front and rear wheels turning at different speed? Say, the front wheels can cover 100km/hr while the rear ones can only cover 75km/hr. What happen to the car average speed (I guess its less than...
  10. M

    String energy transfer from mousetrap to axle of wheels

    Well, we have a Physics project which requires us to build a car and power this using energy provided by a mousetrap. We may not add other energy sources to power the car; we can only use the mousetrap provided to power the car. Homework Equations Now, thinking about strings and...
  11. M

    Why do smaller wheels on a car ?

    why do smaller wheels on a car...? I recently had to do a science lab for school, and my guiding question was 'Does the size of a car’s wheel affect the acceleration rate?' when i completed this lab, my results were that a smaller wheel affects the acceleration rate more then a bigger wheel...
  12. 2

    Steering Wheel Radius - 2 Wheels

    On a Go-Kart you have two independent steerable front wheels that can be adjusted to steer at different rates. What I am trying to figure out is a formula I can use, converted to degrees or MM, to give the turn angle each wheel must achieve to turn the kart and not create mutual drag and...
  13. F

    What is the function of a reaction/momentum wheel?

    i apologize if this question is very basic. What is a reaction/ momentum wheel? I've been doing some research for a cubeSAT project, and these have popped up often in terms of attitude control. I really don't understand what a flywheel is, but if i knew that then maybe a reaction wheel would...
  14. S

    Feasibility of spherical wheels.

    We're trying to fit spherical wheels to move a prototype vehicle rather than the circular one for our project. The advantages we see are greater acceleration due to smaller M.I (for the same mass of the wheels) and easy parking. I suggested the conventional electric motor principle for...
  15. R

    Two wheels and angular acceleration

    [SOLVED] Two wheels and angular acceleration Homework Statement In the figure below, wheel A of radius rA = 11 cm is coupled by belt B to wheel C of radius rC = 25 cm. The angular speed of wheel A is increased from rest at a constant rate of 1.6 rad/s2. Find the time needed for wheel C to...
  16. K

    Inertia Moment for Racing Motorcycle Wheels

    Hi, I'm hoping you kind folks can help me out. I'm a motorcycle racer, and I'm trying to find a *simple* formula for calculating how much mass addition/reduction to a wheel will increase/decrease the force required to change the direction of the motorcycle when at speed. Basically, to turn a...
  17. R

    Rotational Kinetic Energy of bicycle wheels

    A bicycle has wheels of radius 0.33 m. Each wheel has a rotational inertia of 0.082 kg* m2 about its axle. The total mass of the bicycle including the wheels and the rider is 74 kg. When coasting at constant speed, what fraction of the total kinetic energy of the bicycle (including rider) is the...
  18. M

    Calculate Torque for Acceleration: 4-Wheel Car with 1000kg Mass & 12m/s Velocity

    I wasnt sure where to post my question. Here goes: I have a car with 4 wheels and one motor. The motor drives an axle connected to the back wheels. The total mass of the car is 1000kg Each wheel weighs 20kg and is a solid cylinder The effective frictional force is 0.2 The radius of the...
  19. U

    Car transfer function (from accelerator to wheels)

    Anyone know what a car's transfer function is, ie the dynamic response written as differential equations and diagrams, so a controller can be designed for it (as in the cruise control feature in some luxury cars)? I mean, many of us are familiar with the torque curve, ie engine torque as a...
  20. S

    Calculate the torque exerted by the car around the back wheels

    1.A mechanic jacks up a car to an angle of 7.0° to change the front tires. The car is 2.90 m long and has a mass of 1180 kg. Its center of mass is located 1.12 m from the front end. The rear wheels are 0.40 m from the back end. Calculate the torque exerted by the car around the back wheels...
  21. T

    Understanding Axles and Wheels: The Mystery of Spoke Stress in Textbooks

    why don't textbooks ever give the stress/tension of the spokes on a wheel? How would you find this?
  22. W

    Torque Question airplane wheels

    1. An airliner lands with a speed of 45.0 m/s. Each wheel of the plane has a radius of 1.25 m and a moment of inertia of 110 kg·m2. At touchdown the wheels begin to spin under the action of friction. Each wheel supports a weight of 1.40 x 10^4 N, and the wheels attain the angular speed of...
  23. M

    Wheels, camber thrust and slopes.

    My understanding of 'camber thrust' is that when a wheel rolls with it's axle not parallel to the ground, it will act as a rolling cone and try to follow an arc around the point at which it's rotation axis intersects the ground. I've seen this effect on flat ground for instance being able to...
  24. J

    Spinning the wheels: intro to angular momentum

    An object has rotational inertia I. The object, initially at rest, begins to rotate with a constant angular acceleration of magnitude alpha. What is the magnitude of the angular momentum L of the object after time t? ___ So I know that I have to find angular velocity and use the equation...
  25. T

    What is the angular velocity of the front wheels in rpm?

    [b]1. [b]1. The rear wheels of a tractor are 4 ft in diameter and turn at 20 rpm. a. How fast is the tractor going (ft. per sec.)? b. The front wheels have a diameter of only 1.8 ft. What is the linear velocity of a point on their tire treads? c. What is the angular velocity of the front...
  26. J

    Bigger wheels accelarate faster?

    HI i live in South-Africa and a few of us guys have been fighting on a car club about something... I say that if you get 2 of the same cars (Ford Fiesta ST150) which has a standard of 17" wheels. Now you keep the same wheel on the one car and on the other you change the wheel to a larger wheel...
  27. K

    Hot Wheels Racing: Factors for Fast Cars & Modifications

    I'm interested in the physics behind racing Hot Wheels cars. When you release the cars from an incline, what makes some cars go faster than others? What would be the most important factor of a fast car (ex. weight, aerodynamics, etc.)? How could I modify a car to go faster? Thanks!
  28. E

    Car Wheels Automatically Recenter

    Hello Everyone, My friend and I were having a discussion of why car wheels would naturally return back to a forward position if one doesn't hold on to the steering wheel. It could be that its just the car turning to match the direction of the wheel, but I think the wheels turn more to match...
  29. L

    Spinning wheels and diamond wire fences

    So I have two (somewhat) related questions. 1) Why is it wheel rims (or spokes) sometimes appear to spin backward? Everytime I see this it drives me crazy. I just cannot figure out how a wheel spinning real fast in one direction appears to be spinning real slow in the other direction. 2)...
  30. C

    Calculating Initial Velocity: Physics of Home Alone 2's Tool Chest Scene

    Hi, My friend and I are doing a physics project that analyzes movie physics and we have a quick question. In Home Alone 2, the kid ties a doorknob to a tool chest on wheels that is a floor up. The bad guys pull on the doorknob and the tool chest starts falling down the stairs. How would we...
  31. Mallignamius

    Pets Love Wheels? Cat Version of Mouse Wheel Explained

    This is a clip of a "cat wheel," a feline version of a mouse wheel. I had several mice years ago, and they couldn't seem to get enough of their wheel. What is the appeal of these wheels to animals? Anyways, it's also a cute clip, and if you're a cat lover, you know you want one.
  32. S

    Scroller Roller Wheels: What Are They Used For?

    A few weeks ago I discovered http://www.erikbrinkman.com/scroller/" over eleven years ago, why isn't it used for anything? Or if it is, what?
  33. M

    Lagrangian with springs and rotating wheels

    Homework Statement A cart of mass M rides on four frictionlesly mounted wheels of radius a and mass m'. The top of the cart is sloped at an angle alpha horizontally and a mass m is suspended from the top of the slope of force constant k. m slides without friction up or down the slope. a)...
  34. A

    Rolling Pebbles & Wheels: Analyzing Motion

    Homework Statement A wheel of radius R rolls along the ground with velocity V. A pebble is carefully released on top of the wheel so that it is instantaneously at rest on the wheel. (a) Show that the pebble will immediately fly off the wheel if V> sqrt(Rg) (b) Show that in the case where V<...
  35. Andre

    News Spinning wheels of Global Warming

    In the early days of Global Warming, the "capo di tutti global warming capi", Stephan Schneider, made his world famous public appeal to commit noble cause corruption: http://stephenschneider.stanford.edu/Publications/PDF_Papers/DetroitNews.pdf It's likely that this appeal is one of the...
  36. A

    Forces and sitting on a chair with wheels

    So I am a person sitting on a chair that has wheels. Now, the question is - can I push the chair when I am sitting on the chair and have nothing to push against? [other than the chair] Whenever i try to push against the chair, friction with the ground seems to pull it back. According to...
  37. M

    How Do You Calculate Tire Rotation Frequency and Edge Speeds?

    Homework Statement A car tire is 65.0 cm in diameter. The car is traveling at a speed of 20.0 m/s . What is the tire's rotation frequency, in rpm? What is the speed of a point at the top edge of the tire? What is the speed of a point at the bottom edge of the tire? Homework...
  38. C

    Wheels and rotational motion

    Hi. I did a 5 part problem and I just want to know if I did it right or if I'm on the right track. Please help. Thank you. The problem is as follows: Two identical grinding wheels of mass m and radius r are initially spinning about their centers. Wheel A has an intial angular speed of w...
  39. J

    Force of friction of this cart on wheels with a motor driven propeller

    can anyone show me how to solve this problem? a cart on wheels with a mass of 250 g has a motor driven propeller with a force P of .3 N, and it moved down an incline of 30 degrees with an acceleration of 3.5 m/s^2. What is the force of friction ? determine coefficent of friction
  40. J

    Why rubber should be used for plane wheels?

    hi, i am doing a level physics in the uk(first year of the 2), we are doing this big coursework on the materials, where each member of the class is supposed to choose a material and make a big report on it, with plan, report, predictions, and in the end we have to have a microsoft presentation...
  41. B

    What is the total rotational kinetic energy of the wheels?

    A 50kg rider on a moped of mass 75kg is traveling with a speed of 20 m/s. Each of the two wheels of the moped has a radius of 0.2m and a moment of inertia of 0.2 kg*m^2. What is the total rotational kinetic energy of teh wheels? KEr = 1/2Iw^2 = 1/2(.02)(20)^2 = 4 Two wheels = 2...
  42. P

    Static friction of car wheels

    An automobile with four wheel drive has mass of 1000kg. Its weight is evenly distrubuted among the four wheels, whos coefficient of static friction with the road is 0.80. If the car starts from rest and the road is horizontal calculate the maximum acceleration it can attain without spinning its...
  43. L

    Drawing Worm Gears and Wheels - Simplified Representation

    This is my first post Sorry that it has to be such a stupid question... How does one draw a worm gear along with its worm wheel? I know that a worm gear is made up of a helix but I sure hope that I do not have to draw that! :yuck: Is there a much simpler representation?
  44. K

    Can Wheels Increase Velocity When Separated From Vehicle?

    Is it possible for a wheels forward velocity to increase when separated from a moving vehicle? If so please describe what makes this possible?
  45. F

    Aligning RC Car Wheels for Straight Travel: Tips Needed

    trying to build an rc car but stuck on how to make sure its wheels are aligned properly so that it can travel in a straight line. Any tips will be welcomed. thanks.
  46. D

    Trouble connecting my wheels

    For my project i am involved in called scrambler I have designed a wooden cart to carry my egg one meter and then stop, but i am having trouble connecting my wheels and circuts to the base? Help!
  47. N

    Calculating Frequency of Oscillation of Plank on Rotating Wheels

    I have encountered a question regarding a plank shifting in simple harmonic motion on top of two rotating wheels, rotating in exact opposite directions with the same angular velocities and the question requires me to determine the frequency of oscillation, which has got me stuck. I proved that...
  48. M

    Angular Acceleration of a Cyclist's Wheels: 54 Rev in 10.0 s

    A cyclist starts from rest and pedals such that the wheels of his bike have a constant angular acceleration. After 10.0 s, the wheels have made 54 rev. What is the angular acceleration of the wheels? Use units of "rad/s\^{}2". If the radius of the wheel is 36.0 cm, and the wheel rolls without...
  49. S

    Information needed on two wheels and chain apparent paradox in SR

    I hope someone can point me to some information to assist resolving this apparent SR paradox. I have two gear wheels with an endless chain passing round them. The axles of the wheels are 100 chain_link_lengths apart, so we have 100 chain links along the top; 100 chain links along the bottom...
  50. P

    Fixing Unstable Wheels in Autonomous Car Project

    Hello, I am trying to finish a project that uses 2 motors and 2 wheels of 3in in diameter each to produce an autonomous car (although we know it is not autonomous because I'm stupid) the problem is... the wheels tend to go up a bit and down a bit... is not stable... how can i make the...
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