The distance race is the most basic form of Mousetrap Care races. The simple premise is the car that travels the farthest wins the race.
What we learn in distance racing
- How gearing can be applied and the stored kinetic energy evenly utilized
- Gearing Ratios
- Friction / Shearing Force
- How mass and inertia contribute to movement.
Friction
- There are several areas where friction is at play.
- Wheel to surface contact
- Axle to Frame contact
- String -to String
- String to spool
Gearing Ratios
In the simplest explanation we can come to understand that the gearing used in our cars is a way to manage how the Kinetic energy stored in the spring is released.
Simply, more gearing mean slower release.
The factors we should consider are with the mass of the car and the friction that needs to be overcome. If we increase the gear ratio to high, the reduced amount of energy at anyone point in time may not be enough to overcome the mass. Alternatively if we reduce the gear ratio the increased amount of energy at a given moment may overcome the friction between the wheels and the surface. This will result in the wheels losing traction and spinning.