Thread: Relationship between wheel type and power
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Unread 13-01-2006, 20:49
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Re: Relationship between wheel type and power
Right, but the tradeoff is spoolup time. You need to realize that a wheel with a greater power storage capability will also have a greater inertial moment, and therefore require more time to get it up to speed than a smaller flywheel. That makes sense. Now, Ken's right, the reason why a bigger wheel throws the ball harder is about it's linear speed. That means the amount of wheel that passes past a reference point on the wheel in a given amount of time.

Linear velocity (to get more, increase the RPM or the diameter of the wheel) means a greater exit velocity of the ball. Greater flywheel kinetic energy ( increase the diameter, or increase the mass), assuming an adequate power (enough that the ball doesn't really realize the flywheel slowing down during launch) will mean you can fire faster. If less KE is taken from the flywheel, you need less time to get it back up to speed for the next shot.
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