Physics Behind Car Collisions

For the topic of my paper I have chosen to study the physics behind car collisions. In my paper I will go over the average amount of accidents per year and go into detail on how accidents can be reduced. Using what I learned in physics and basic understanding of Newton’s three law’s of motion I will explain the proper functions of seat belts, air bags and crumple zones as well as explain static and kinetic friction and the affects they have in automobile accidents.

About 1.3 million people die each year in on automobile accident, which is about three-thousand-two-hundred and eighty seven deaths per day in just automobile accidents alone. In addition twenty to fifty million people are injured or disabled. Automobile accidents are the ninth

To put it in a simpler way of understanding, heavier weighing objects will require more force to move in the same direction and distance as a lighter object. Newton's second law gives us an exact relationship between force, mass, and acceleration this equation can be expressed as F=MA or Force= MASS times ACCELERATION (Louviere, Georgia).

Newton's third law states that “For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. The statement means that in every interaction, there is a pair of forces acting on the two interacting objects. The size of the forces on the first object equals the size of the force on the second object.” (The Physics Classroom) Automobiles are moved by the wheels the car is equipped with. As the wheels turn they grip the road and push the road underneath backward as this is happening the force of the road is equal to the force on the wheels moving

First, we must understand what friction is and what causes it. “The force of friction is a force that resists motion when two objects are in contact.”All surfaces of all objects have tiny bumps and ridges in them. These microscopic bumps and ridges catch on one another when two or more objects are moving past each other. The level of friction caused by different material in objects is measured by the coefficient of friction. The formula is µ = f/N. µ is the coefficient of friction, f equals the amount of force that resists motion and N is the normal force. The normal force is the force that is being applied into another. There are two forms of frictions as we noted from earlier, kinetic and static. When you try slide two objects past each other with a very small amount of force you will create no motion that is because the force to break friction is greater than the force applied to move the object. This is static friction. If you applied a greater amount of force the object will break free and continue to slide as force is applied. This is kinetic friction. With kinetic friction, not as much force is needed to keep the object sliding when it has already overcome static