How Much Does a Fly Hitting a Train Slow It Down?
[caption id="attachment_27068" align="alignright" width="480"] The Scenario: a fly hitting a train.[/caption]Say you have a train, a locomotive traveling along a straight railroad track. The atmosphere is absolutely free of every conceivable impediment except for one lone housefly. Unfortunately (for the fly), it and the train collide head-on. You have a fly hitting a train. Clearly, the fly will turn into a smear. How much does that fly slow the train down that it has hit? The train will suffer no apparent change in speed, yet it does slow down, even if there is no obvious change. How much does it slow down? Fly Hitting a Train: Specific Numbers We will attempt to use realistic numbers. We choose the following: Locomotive: 4,000 tons [a light train] Fly: 14 milligrams Locomotive Speed:…