We all know that pushing down on the brake pedal slows a car to a stop. But how.....
- How does this happen?
- How does your car transmit the force from your leg to its wheel?
- How does it multiply the force so that it is enough to stop something as big as car?
Of all the systems that make up your car, the brake system might just be the most important. In the olden days it was also one of the simplest. Over the years as improvements have been made, the system that has evolved isn't so simple anymore. (It's also about a zillion times more reliable and safer.)
Ø Brakes convert the kinetic energy to heat energy. All of this heat is generated between the friction surfaces of your brake pads and your rotors.
Ø Brakes operate on a simple hydraulic principle. If a force is exerted on the piston putting pressure on the fluid confined in the left hand container, the fluid is forced out through the narrow tube at the bottom and into the right hand container, exerting a force on the second piston, forcing it to move upward.
Ø This is how the force from your foot gets to the four corners of the car. If we add a lever to magnify the force applied to the first (master) cylinder, and maybe even a power booster unit to increase that force even more.
- When you depress your brake pedal, your car transmits the force from your foot to its brakes through a fluid. Since the actual brakes require a much greater force than you could apply with your leg, your car must also multiply the force of your foot.
