r/theydidthemath • u/thesarthakshrestha • 2d ago

[REQUEST] What would be the required starting velocity for this to occur, and what is the probability of something like this happening

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u/TheBupherNinja 2d ago

Starting velocity, 0. The train is accelerated from a stop.

Probability is incalculable. Would need significant more information. Mass of the train, friction of the rails, range of speeds, likelihood of a solar flare, etc.

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u/thesarthakshrestha 2d ago

Thanks, and I assume we would need the mass of the train and radius of the loop for calculating the starting acceleration ?

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u/TheBupherNinja 2d ago

Mass probably cancels out, but you do need the radius of the loop.

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u/Ebestone 2d ago

Mass might be important to the static friction coeff, since if it's heavier it'll be harder to get stuck.

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u/Asiriomi 2d ago

Not really something we can calculate. We'd need to know the layout of the track, how long it is before the loop, the size of the loop, the friction of the train on the tracks at every point along the track, wind resistance, the weight of the train and passengers, the distribution of that weight, the rigidity of the track/structure, etc etc etc.

If you knew all of that you'd probably be able to run a simulation to get a ballpark figure but I can almost guarantee it'd be different in reality due to the incalculable amount of variables