Gravity train of variable mass
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31349/RevMexFisE.21.020213Keywords:
Gravity train, Gravity tunnel, variable mass systemAbstract
The gravity train is a virtual vehicle that travels in a tunnel across Earth, and its motion due to only gravity is a simple harmonic oscillator. It can run at a constant velocity by appropriately exhausting fuel. In this case, the train obeys the equation of motion for a variable mass system. We discuss the mass and energy reduction of the gravity train during travel and find the optimal conditions for economical travel. This study is suitable for university students in physics classes.
References
P. W. Cooper, Through the Earth in Forty Minutes, Am.J.Phys. 34, 68 (1966). https://doi.org/10.1119/1.1972773
G. Venezian, Terrestrial Brachistochrone, Am.J.Phys.34, 701 (1966). https://doi.org/10.1119/1.1973207
A. R. Klotz, The gravity tunnel in a non-uniform Earth, Am.J.Phys.83, 231(2015). http://dx.doi.org/10.1119/1.4898780
A. Simonič, A note on a straight gravity tunnel through a rotating body, Am.J.Phys.88, 499(2020). https://doi.org/10.1119/10.0001181
M. Seel, The relativistic gravity train, Eur. J. Phys.39,035603(2018). https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6404/aaa8f6
T. Concannon and G. Giordano, Gravity Tunnel Drag (2016), https://arxiv.org/abs/1606.01852
M. Selmke, A note on the history of gravity tunnels, Am.J.Phys.86, 153(2018). https://doi.org/10.1119/1.5002543
A. Sommerfeld, Mechanics, Lectures on Theoretical Physics Vol. 1 (Academic Press, New York, 1952)
C. A. de Sousa and V. H. Rodrigues, Mass redistribution in variable mass systems, Eur. J. Phys.25, 41 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1088/0143-0807/25/1/007
J. Mallinckrodt, F does not equal d(mv)/dt, Phys. Teach. 48, 360 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1119/1.3479701
B. Hester and J. Burris, Another Look at Rocket Thrust, Phys. Teach. 50, 534 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1119/1.4767484
Wikipedia, Spacecraft propulsion. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spacecraft.propulsion
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2024 Yuji Kajiyama
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Authors retain copyright and grant the Revista Mexicana de Física E right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.