Sir Isaac Newton is viewed as one of the most profound and certainly one of the greatest scientists in history. You may know him from the falling apple and invention of the theory of gravity. However, Sir Isaac Newton's scientific curiosity developed from and early age. He grew up in Lincolnshire and went to the Grantham Grammar School. Even at an early age his favourite subjects were maths and science. At thirteen he was an excellent model maker and decided to attach wheels and castors to his school chair to get to lessons more quickly and easily. It was in 1666 that the infamous apple fell from the tree and inspired the theory of gravity. Whilst developing the theory of the law of gravitation, he also developed calculus mathematics, refraction of light and the Laws of Motion. It is the Laws of Motion that even today are the basic adage upon which motion physics rests. It is not surprising to learn that within the materials handling industry these Laws of Motion affect the choice of castors and wheels that are the most appropriate.
The first Law of Motion is that an object will remain at rest unless acted upon by a force. Within the materials handling industry castors and wheels will remain at rest until acted on by a force. This force can also be called tractive resistance. This is the effort required or force required, to move a piece of equipment fitted with castors. In order to minimise the force required, castors and wheels can be attached to the equipment or machinery to ease movement. The type of castor and the type of wheel chosen will affect the amount of force required to move the object. For example the general rule of thumb is the larger the castors and wheels; the easier it is to move them. Also the castors wheel material can greatly affect the amount of force required. Some wheels have more friction with the ground than others. Nylon wheeled castors are the easiest to move as there is little resistance with the floor surface. Rubber wheeled castors however have a resilient tread and their tractive resistance is generally up to three times greater than that of an equivalent sized hard tread wheel.
The second Law of Motion is concerning the relationship between objects mass, acceleration and the force applied to move the object. The acceleration of an object is directly proportional to the net force exerted and inversely proportional to the objects mass. In order to counteract this law of motion, braked castors prevent the object moving. However if the mass of the object, or the load of the equipment is underestimated the braked castors will fail to prevent movement. Finally the third Law of Motion is that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. This cleverly relates to the forces of action and reaction together acting upon an object. This action reaction force makes it possible for castors and wheels to move along any surface. These Laws of Motion are the basis of physics and classical mechanics and are a vital consideration when choosing castors and wheels. It's just not as simple as an apple falling off a tree!
Author Resource:
Chris Tyrrell writes for Ross Handling, the leading supplier of Castors in the UK. Visit the website for more details.
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