Comments on: Speed Nudge

By: Allison

Allison — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 23:18:36 +0000

Is there anything that works the opposite way i.e. hard at lower speeds/lower weights and fluid at higher weights/speeds?

There are on-going issues with cyclists and LRT or street car tracks - if you could fill the tracks with a non-Newtonian fluid that keeps a cyclist wheel from going into the track and then collapse when the train comes through….

By: Phil Park

Phil Park — Sun, 13 Jun 2010 23:29:39 +0000

I’m also curious as to how temperature affects the viscosity. It could be confusing if the speed bump hardened at various temperatures as seasons changed.

By: Runcible

Runcible — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 18:35:12 +0000

Here’s an idea - maybe we could put some sort of gauge inside the vehicle that would display the speed the vehicle is traveling? The gauge could be placed just below the windshield so that motorists would always know what speed they were traveling and could thus easily conform to local traffic restrictions.

By: Bossi

Bossi — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 13:49:58 +0000

Or even better… use a speed hump/table instead of a speed bump. Why use fancy chemicals when a better-designed vertical deflection could do the same thing?

By: Michael Prager

Michael Prager — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 04:36:34 +0000

I have a better idea, how about a car that tells you when you are going over the speed limit; beeps or light goes off when you are going too fast like when you don’t have your seat belt on.

By: malraux

malraux — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 21:05:34 +0000

It almost certainly has a much lower freezing point (or you could design it to have a much lower freezing point) than regular water. But even if it freezes, the worst thing that could happen would be that it would turn into an old fashioned speedbump. Of course, in that level of cold, you probably should be driving much more cautiously anyway.

By: Todd Scott

Todd Scott — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 14:42:42 +0000

I’m curious how it handles freezing temperatures and bicycle traffic.

By: kidincredible

kidincredible — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 13:44:39 +0000

(I know everyone says this, but I have to say it)
I thought of this after watching the Mythbusters episode explaining non-Newtonian fluids. Too bad I don’t have a team of physicists to help me implement it.

By: Bossi

Bossi — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 13:35:10 +0000

Neat way to experience this effect at home: just mix corn starch & water in a bowl… if memory serves me well, I think it’s a 50/50 mix by volume. You can poke your finger into it as if water, but try and slap or punch it & it’s like hitting a wall. …This is the same effect as quicksand.