Recent content by tadietz

Long time, no activity - but I have something to share relating to some pretty nice software I found, and I have some new questions: I am playing around with some physics simulation / education software called Algodoo (http://www.algodoo.com- not too sophisticated for a casual user but has...

First, I am not an electrical engineer - I am a hobbyist building a prototype linear-stlye generator based on an idea I had which, for various reasons, cannot be built with magnets that pass completely inside of coil(s) like most of the ones I have seen described for wave energy capture and...

I ran into the following page http://www.yourrenewable-energies.com/honeywell-wind-turbine-6500/technical-specifications a while back, and was wondering if this is just a special case of a linear generator, i.e., where magnets move past fixed coils to generate electricity rather than the more...

Thanks, Cwatters. I will see if the reference helps and can be adapted to my software's limited capabilities in this area. Nice find.

MikeyW - think wagon wheel without much in the way of spokes vs. solid disk, or bike wheel vs solid disk. Since the bike/wagon wheel has less surface area, I would assume it is less impacted by wind resistance if other factors like turbulence aren't an issue.

I am simulating a rapidly rotating (horizontal axis, if that makes a difference) flywheel. The software isn't too sophisticated w.r.t. wind resistance, unfortunately, and seems to use the diameter of the rotating body as one of the main parameters, in addition to the velocity of the rotating...

One more thing - does the rolling object in my system impart any 'uphill' force at the point of contact to the conveyor it is rolling downhill on? If so, how do you quantify that force? Intuitively, it would seem that it would, kind of like a tire on the drive wheel of a car can propel a rug...

Sorry for the long delay - life and work stuff intruded on my having time to think about this for a while - and thanks for the earlier responses. Anyway, I agree that in my system as initially described, the belt would have to continuously accelerate to keep up with the rolling object due to...

rcgldr, I made a mistake using the term rolling resistance; I guess, doing a little review, the most appropriate term would have been coefficient of static friction since the belt and the objects rolling on it aren't slipping. Not that this matter now - I had an epiphany! That's the beauty of...

Thanks, rcgldr. I understand the stationary belt case, but meant to specifically exclude that condition by specifying in my description: I should have been more explicit that the stationary case was excluded. What you state - that the motor can do no work at all if the conveyor is not...

I have looked around several internet Physics sites and information sources, and even asked questions here and in other places, and can't seem to find answers to my questions about a thought experiment I came up with: Think about three similar cases: A ball, a solid cylinder, and a hollow...

I would agree this would happen up to a point, i.e., where the sphere reaches it's terminal velocity. Terminal velocity in a system as described could vary largely based on the frictional forces between the sphere and the belt, the mass of the sphere, the angle of the belt, etc. The general...

I have a related question to this general area, but involving something I have not seen discussed elsewhere, so here goes (excuse me if this is the wrong thread, I am a newbie on this site): How would you diagram/describe all of the forces involved in a system where a solid sphere is rolling...