A train of length and mass is travelling at along a straight track. · OlympiadBench #849
Physics · thermodynamics
Problem
A train of length 100m and mass 105kg is travelling at 20m/s along a straight track. The driver engages the brakes and the train starts deccelerating at a constant rate, coming to a stop after travelling a distance d=2000m. As the train decelerates, energy released as heat from the brakes goes into the tracks, which have a linear heat capacity of 5000Jm−1K−1. Assume the rate of heat generation and transfer is uniform across the length of the train at any given moment.
If the tracks start at an ambient temperature of 20∘C, there is a function T(x) that describes the temperature (in Celsius) of the tracks at each point x, where the rear of where the train starts is at x=0. Assume (unrealistically) that 100% of the original kinetic energy of the train is transferred to the tracks (the train does not absorb any energy), that there is no conduction of heat along the tracks, and that heat transfer between the tracks and the surroundings is negligible.
Compute T(20)+T(500)+T(2021) in degrees celsius.
Given constants:
- Proton mass, mp=1.67⋅10−27kg
- Neutron mass, mn=1.67⋅10−27kg
- Electron mass, me=9.11⋅10−31kg
- Avogadro's constant, N0=6.02⋅1023mol−1
- Universal gas constant, R=8.31J/(mol⋅K)
- Boltzmann's constant, kB=1.38⋅10−23J/K
- Electron charge magnitude, e=1.60⋅10−19C
- 1 electron volt, 1eV=1.60⋅10−19J
- Speed of light, c=3.00⋅108m/s
- Universal Gravitational constant,
G=6.67⋅10−11(N⋅m2)/kg2
- Solar Mass
M⊙=1.988⋅1030kg
- Acceleration due to gravity, g=9.8m/s2
- 1 unified atomic mass unit,
1u=1.66⋅10−27kg=931MeV/c2
- Planck's constant,
h=6.63⋅10−34J⋅s=4.41⋅10−15eV⋅s
- Permittivity of free space,
ϵ0=8.85⋅10−12C2/(N⋅m2)
- Coulomb's law constant,
k=4πϵ01=8.99⋅109(N⋅m2)/C2
- Permeability of free space,
μ0=4π⋅10−7T⋅m/A
- Magnetic constant,
4πμ0=1⋅10−7(T⋅m)/A
- 1 atmospheric pressure,
1atm=1.01⋅105N/m2=1.01⋅105Pa
- Wien's displacement constant, b=2.9. 10−3m⋅K
- Stefan-Boltzmann constant,
σ=5.67⋅10−8W/m2/K4