Quote:
Originally Posted by Boss330
Quote:
Originally Posted by jmg
Think of it this way: take a tennis ball and set it on the ground. Take a bowling ball and set it on the ground. What is the difference in contact patch? Minimal. Only when to take into account material compression or in this case tire deflection does the contact patch change significantly.
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Have you calculated the contact area for the tennis ball and the bowling ball? (Bad example as the tennis ball has a textured surface while the bowling ball is smooth. Better to use similar surfaces when comparing/calculating).
How large was the difference in %
You might be surprised...
It's easy to disregard the difference in contact area because both are so small compared to the remaining area of the objects. But, even though both still have a very small contact area, the bowling ball will have a much larger area than the smaller ball.
A tennis ball is around 67mm (6,7cm) in diameter
A bowling ball is around 217mm (21,7cm) in diameter
Surface area of a sphere:
A = 4πr2
Surface area of the tennis ball: 141cm2
Surface area of the bowling ball: 1256cm2
For arguments sake, let's say that 0,01% of the surface of a sphere (ball) touches the ground.
Tennis ball area touching the ground: 0,0141cm2
Bowling ball area touching the ground: 0,1256cm2
Percentage increase in contact area: 890% |
Whoa whoa simmer down there sir. Maths proving points is not the way of the interwebz.
lol nice work.