So funny thing about unacceptable and lateral g-force — this is a big part of why F1 cars aren’t V10 engines anymore. They were getting too fast and the decision was between g-suits and slower cars. FIA chose slower cars (also more fuel efficient, yay).
Now it’s a few years later and cars have again advanced to the point that drivers pull more than 5 lateral G in some corners. It’s kinda bonkers.
I wonder if something like the HANS device could be useful in sledding. Or those neck protectors motocross riders use. Might keep heads from banging around as much.
Do you have a source on the reason for moving away from V10s being about safety of drivers. It was, I thought, about cost reduction and image (move towards less gas guzzling monsters and then hybrid that we have today)
"For 2006, engines are reduced in size from the previous 3-litre V10s to 2.4-litre V8s. The aim is to reduce costs and improve safety."
You can also tell that it's mostly about performance, given all the other design restrictions (no variable valve timing, no intercoolers, just one spark plug, etc ).
where i live (especially in my local region) tourism is huge. especially in winter. and IMHO skiing is one of the most dangerous winter activities you can do. i honestly always bring this up because i think skiing is wrongfully seen as a "casual activity".
having worked in a hospital for some time, you wouldn't believe how many accidents we receive in winter just because of skiing accidents. it's by far the worst time to be working in a hospital and i'm not exaggerating. it's truly insane how easy it is to get injured in a major way while skiing.
you can be the best freaking skiier in your whole ski club, and still get taken out by a single stupid idiot who doesn't know his limits or just doesn't care for the safety of others.
The thing about skiing (and snowboarding) is that improving measurable performance almost always requires taking more risks - harder trails or higher speed. Contrast with running, for example, where increasing speed involves no risk at all. Most people want to improve at what they do, so the ski resorts are filled with people at the edge of their ability, all in proximity to one another. That plus the sheer speed practically guarantees a high injury rate.
Personally, while I do challenge myself in those ways some of the time, I'm just as happy seeing how many turns I can make on a run I've already mastered, or trying to make each turn absolutely perfect. Slight increase in risk, but much less than the human cannonballs I see around me.
i agree, you're never going to be able to ski down a black-level route if you don't take the very first risk: going from blue-level to red-level.
but with my prev comment i hope to kind of shed light on how dangerous skiing actually is as i often hear people having very relaxed opinions on skiing so i just feel obligated to share my experience lol
so to lead back to the original comment, i don't think it's ironic at all that Schuhmacher had his accident while skiing instead of driving F1. i consider skiing much more dangerous. however do take that opinion with a grain of salt. i'm not into F1, have never driven a F1 car, never watched a full race and don't know the statistics about average injury rates of F1 drivers. but i do know that the mountains are full of idiots going high speed, which isn't even required to get a high level injury. while on the race track, you drive against other professionals.
I was told that engines were more stable in multiples of 6's from some weird physics going on in the engine. I guess that guy could have been completely full of shit.
That guy was right that there are 6-cylinder configurations with perfect mechanical balance (and not for other cylinder numbers), but the V6 isn't one of them so that's not the reason here.
Its mostly a trigonometry thing, three sine waves 120 degrees out of phase balance out to constant torque. Also see electrical 3-phase power.
Note that internal combustion cylinder pressure is by no means a perfect sine wave LOL but its a close enough approximation to run smoother.
Its partially a physics thing, in that ICE are usually 4-cycle so they fire every other rotation so if you want three firing pistons per rotation separated 120 degrees you'll need six cylinders total.
Now it’s a few years later and cars have again advanced to the point that drivers pull more than 5 lateral G in some corners. It’s kinda bonkers.
I wonder if something like the HANS device could be useful in sledding. Or those neck protectors motocross riders use. Might keep heads from banging around as much.