DEFINITION OF ACCELERATION

[SpeedRacer]

One of my Chrysler buddies sent this to me and I thought some of you might find it interesting.

 

" DEFINITION OF ACCELERATION "

 

One Top Fuel dragster 500 cubic inch Hemi engine makes more

horsepower than the first 4 rows of stock cars at the Daytona

500.

 

Under full throttle, a dragster engine consumes 1-1/2 gallons

of nitro methane per second; a fully loaded 747 consumes jet

fuel at the same rate with 25% less energy being produced.

 

A stock Dodge Hemi V8 engine cannot produce enough power to

drive the dragster's supercharger.

 

With 3,000 CFM of air being rammed in by the supercharger on

overdrive, the fuel mixture is compressed into a near-solid

form before ignition.

 

Cylinders run on the verge of hydraulic lock at full throttle.

 

At the stoichiometric (stoichiometry: methodology and

technology by which quantities of reactants and products in

chemical reactions are determined)

1.7:1 air/fuel mixture for nitro methane, the flame front

temperature measures 7,050 deg F.

 

Nitro methane burns yellow. The spectacular white flame seen

above the stacks at night is raw burning hydrogen,

dissociated from atmospheric water vapor by the searing

exhaust gases.

 

Dual magnetos supply 44 amps to each spark plug. This is the

output of an arc welder in each cylinder.

 

Spark plug electrodes are totally consumed during a pass.

After halfway, the engine is dieseling from compression, plus

the glow of exhaust valves at 1,400 degrees F. The engine

can only be shut down by cutting the fuel

flow.

 

If spark momentarily fails early in the run, unburned nitro

builds up in the affected cylinders and then explodes with

sufficient force to blow cylinder heads off the block in

pieces or split the block in half.

 

In order to exceed 300 mph in 4.5 seconds, dragsters must

accelerate an average of over 4G's. In order to reach 200 mph

(well before half-track), > the launch acceleration

approaches 8G's.

 

Dragsters reach over 300 miles per hour before you have

completed reading this sentence.

 

Top Fuel engines turn approximately 540 revolutions from

light to light! Including the burnout, the engine must only

survive 900 revolutions under load.

 

The redline is actually quite high at 9,500 rpm.

 

Assuming all the equipment is paid off, the crew worked for

free, and for once NOTHING BLOWS UP, each run costs an

estimated $1,000.00 per second.

 

The current Top Fuel dragster elapsed time record is 4.441

seconds for the quarter mile (10/05/03, Tony Schumacher). The

top speed record is 333.00 mph. (533 km/h) as measured over

the last 66' of the run (09/28/03 Doug

Kalitta).

 

Putting all of this into perspective:

 

You are driving the average $140,000 Lingenfelter "twin-

turbo" powered Corvette Z06. Over a mile up the road, a Top

Fuel dragster is staged and ready to launch down a quarter

mile strip as you pass. You have the advantage of a flying

start. You run the 'Vette hard up through the gears

and blast across the starting line and past the dragster at

an honest 200 mph. The 'tree' goes green for both of you at

that moment.

 

The dragster launches and starts after you. You keep your

foot down hard, but you hear an incredibly brutal whine that

sears your eardrums and within 3 seconds, the dragster

catches and passes you. He beats you to the finish

line, a quarter mile away from where you just passed him.

 

Think about it, from a standing start, the dragster had

spotted you 200 mph and not only caught, but nearly blasted

you off the road when he passed you within a mere 1,320 foot

long race course.

 

..and that my friends, is ACCELERATION !

[Guest goldraven]

outstanding! thanks