Physiological Effects of High Acceleration: Investigating with a Rocket Train

[courtrigrad]

A rocket-driven sled running on a straight level track is used to investigate the physiological effects of large acceleration on humans. One such sled can attain a speed of 1000 miles/hr in 1.8 sec starting from rest. (a) Assume the acceleration is constant and compare it t o g . (b) What is the distance traveled in this time? For (a) would I use $v_{x} = v_{x}_{0} + a_{x}t$? THe time would be $t = \frac{1.8}{3600}$ hours? Also what does it mean to compare it with g? For the second part I would just use $x = x_{0} + v_{x}_{0}t + \frac{1}{2}a_{x}t^{2}$


Any help is appreciated

 

[iNCREDiBLE]

Don't forget to convert to SI units. The formulas you're suggesting are correct. To compare the acceleration to g is simple; divide the acceleration by g to get how many times it's greater than g.

 

[quicknote]

. Thank you for your question. I have some insights on the physiological effects of high acceleration and how it can be investigated using a rocket train.

Firstly, it is important to note that high acceleration can have significant physiological effects on the human body. This is because acceleration causes a change in velocity, which in turn affects the forces acting on the body. In the case of a rocket train, the rapid acceleration can result in high G-forces, which can cause discomfort, disorientation, and even loss of consciousness in some individuals.

To investigate these effects, a rocket-driven sled can be used to simulate high acceleration in a controlled environment. As mentioned in the scenario, the sled can reach a speed of 1000 miles/hr in 1.8 seconds, starting from rest. To answer your first question, yes, you can use the equation v_{x} = v_{x}_{0} + a_{x}t to calculate the acceleration. The time would be t = \frac{1.8}{3600} hours, as you correctly stated.

Now, to compare this acceleration with the acceleration due to gravity (g), we can use the equation a = \frac{\Delta v}{\Delta t}. In this case, the change in velocity (Δv) is 1000 miles/hr, and the change in time (Δt) is 1.8 seconds. Plugging these values into the equation, we get an acceleration of approximately 1360 g. This means that the acceleration experienced by the human body on the rocket sled is 1360 times greater than the acceleration due to gravity on Earth.

Moving on to the second part of the question, we can calculate the distance traveled by the rocket sled in 1.8 seconds using the equation x = x_{0} + v_{x}_{0}t + \frac{1}{2}a_{x}t^{2}. Here, x_{0} = 0, as the sled starts from rest, v_{x}_{0} = 0, and a_{x} is the acceleration we calculated earlier (1360 g). Plugging in these values, we get a distance of approximately 0.007 miles (11.2 meters).

In conclusion, the physiological effects of high acceleration can be investigated using a rocket train, and through calculations, we can see that the acceleration experienced is significantly greater than the acceleration due to gravity on Earth