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- which direction should the sparks go when two powered steel railroad wheels are forced to rub against each other in opposite directions?
when a railroad engine wheel slips on a rail as it tries to move forward i can see sparks mostly going in the rear direction. while thinking about what might happen in other situations, such as a moving engine (being pushed by its massive 100 car load, perhaps), i came to a simplistic case that seemed to also be ambiguous. if everything is steel, then two wheels rubbing against each other (both turning in the same direction, with railroad flanges out of the way, rubbing in opposite direction where they contact) should also produce sparks. but it is not clear to me which direction(s) the sparks would go.
i am assuming that steel to steel sparks are still just rubbing off fine bits of iron, due to the friction and force of movement, or the steel used in railroads has some flint-like material in alloy.
maybe this is less of a question about the direction of sparks and more of a question about the direction of fine material being rubbed off (that burns quickly).
i am assuming that steel to steel sparks are still just rubbing off fine bits of iron, due to the friction and force of movement, or the steel used in railroads has some flint-like material in alloy.
maybe this is less of a question about the direction of sparks and more of a question about the direction of fine material being rubbed off (that burns quickly).