For time immemorial people have been cooking up schemes for low energy propulsio
ID: 1466512 • Letter: F
Question
For time immemorial people have been cooking up schemes for low energy propulsion. Of course, we believe that whatever is designed better be compatible with Newton’s Laws and the Law of Conservation of Momentum (which is actually a consequence of Newton’s Second and Third Laws). Several schemes are shown below. Which ones do you think will work? Answer question detailed in (a) through (d) by referring to the diagrams that follow and do a sketch of each situation to accompany your answer.
a. A lazy fisherman turns on a battery-operated fan and blows air onto the sail of his boat. Will he go anywhere? If he moves, what will his direction be? Explain.
b. A clever child is dangling a large magnet out in front of her wagon. It attracts a smaller magnet that she has attached to the front of her cart. Will she go anywhere? If she moves, what will her direction be? Explain.
c. An astronaut is floating in outer space and wants to move backwards. She tosses a ball out in front of her. Will she go anywhere? If she moves, what will her direction be? Explain.
d. A college student on roller blades has a carbon dioxide container strapped to her back. The carbon dioxide jets out behind her under pressure. Will she go anywhere? If she moves, what will her direction be? Explain.
6) d)Explanation / Answer
In A and B, both devices are the classic "Perpetual Motion Machine."
Both are supposed to have a way to theoretically harness an energy to do work.
a) since the fan is on the sailboat, it will not propel the sailboat at all.
b) the two magnets are internal to the wagon, so they will not make the wagon move.
c) the astronaut will move backwards according to Newton's Third Law.
The action of throwing the ball has an equal and opposite reaction propelling
the astronaut backwards.
d) the student will move forward, the "reaction" to the action of releasing the
compressed gas behind her.
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