Gnat hits windscreen

[The Ghost]

Science says (I know this is old) if something reverses direction on the same path backwards to where it originated, then it must stop momentarily to do so. So...when a gnat hits you car windscreen does your car stop momentarily? As the Gnat will reverse direction when flying straight into your windscreen. What is going on???

 

[Pete999]

Science says (I know this is old) if something reverses direction on the same path backwards to where it originated, then it must stop momentarily to do so. So...when a gnat hits you car windscreen does your car stop momentarily? As the Gnat will reverse direction when flying straight into your windscreen. What is going on???

Whatever you are on I want some lol

 

[Darkwood]

There are several points to this that need to be looked at...

-Disregarding the state of the gnat and whether its alive or dead, when it hits the windscreen for a split second its motion will add up to zero before the motion of the vehicle takes over and carries its remains back in the opposite direction.
-When the gnat hits the car there is a force applied against the motion of the car and although extremely tiny it will have a undetectable effect on the cars speed so the car does slow down albeit a very very very tiny amount.
-You asked if the car stops momentarily but it's not the car that is reversing direction only the gnat that is if we were to assume it flew at the car in a perfect straight line in the opposite direction to the cars motion, so no the car would not stop.

 

[Pete999]

There are several points to this that need to be looked at...

-Disregarding the state of the gnat and whether its alive or dead, when it hits the windscreen for a split second its motion will add up to zero before the motion of the vehicle takes over and carries its remains back in the opposite direction.
-When the gnat hits the car there is a force applied against the motion of the car and although extremely tiny it will have a undetectable effect on the cars speed so the car does slow down albeit a very very very tiny amount.
-You asked if the car stops momentarily but it's not the car that is reversing direction only the gnat that is if we were to assume it flew at the car in a perfect straight line in the opposite direction to the cars motion, so no the car would not stop.

I see you have had some of the stuff Voltigern is on then? lol

 

[Darkwood]

I see you have had some of the stuff Voltigern is on then? lol

Yes, its called the love of all things science and alcoholic although the alcohol will have to wait until later

 

[The Ghost]

Well if the gnat stops, the car must stop or the windscreen would break. You have two solid objects meeting one stops and the other either must stop or the item penetrates the solid structure of the opposing object surely.

 

[Richard Burns]

The windscreen will deflect slightly to accommodate this.

 

[Darkwood]

What's missing in the question is 'relative to what' ?

Speed and direction can only exist when you are comparing it, now if we are not specifying this we are usually discussion relative to the earths surface be it land or sea so in that respect the car does not stop when the gnat hits it, not even for a nano-second yet the gnat will as its essentially changing direction to the opposite from where it came, where as the car continues on the same plane.

 

[Midwest]

If the gnat was a really big one and hit the car and caused the car to go backwards, then the car would of stopped momentarily. But thankfully, as gnats have a tiny mass in proportion to a car (in this scenario), they don't cause the car to stop, even momentarily.

Why does a gnat flying around in a car, not hit the windscreen of a car when the car brakes

 

[Darkwood]

If the gnat was a really big one and hit the car and caused the car to go backwards, then the car would of stopped momentarily. But thankfully, as gnats have a tiny mass in proportion to a car (in this scenario), they don't cause the car to stop, even momentarily.

Why does a gnat flying around in a car, not hit the windscreen of a car when the car brakes

A gnat in an enclosed atmosphere of a car will follow the air displacement when the car brakes which actually works the opposite way round to what you may expect, this can be easily shown using a helium filled balloon although can fly against it and has enough force and momentum to overcome this if it wanted to, well if it could react quick enough.

 

[The Ghost]

Well I have thought of this one on and off for many years and have still not concluded anything from it. It becomes a circular argument in my mind. Gnat hits windscreen-reverses direction-stops movement between change of direction-car does not stop-gnat does-brain crashes-cant compute-cant compute.....No wonder they become so atomically attached to the windscreen and you need special fluid to get them off. They are truly flattened. I suppose the last thing that goes through the poor gnats mind is its backside.

 

[Midwest]

Although we can't fly, if we had a big enough car, we could jump up from the seat and land back down in the same spot.

 

[The Ghost]

A gnat in an enclosed atmosphere of a car will follow the air displacement

A fly in an accelerating car - http://physics.stackexchange.com/questions/53475/a-fly-in-an-accelerating-car
www.worldofteaching.com/powerpoints/physics/bug%20windshield.ppt

 

[HandySparks]

The windscreen will deflect slightly to accommodate this.

And the gnat 'deflects' quite a lot!

 

[Barry White]

The car would stop momentarily if the earth was flat