1 00:00:00,160 --> 00:00:03,440 Speaker 1: Audible dot com is the leading provider of downloadable digital 2 00:00:03,480 --> 00:00:07,160 Speaker 1: audio books and spoken word entertainment. Audible has over one 3 00:00:07,200 --> 00:00:10,080 Speaker 1: hundred thousand titles to choose from to be downloaded to 4 00:00:10,119 --> 00:00:13,680 Speaker 1: your iPod or MP three player. Go to audible podcast 5 00:00:13,760 --> 00:00:16,080 Speaker 1: dot com slash brain stuff to get a free audio 6 00:00:16,160 --> 00:00:18,560 Speaker 1: book download of your choice when you sign up today. 7 00:00:19,480 --> 00:00:23,640 Speaker 1: Welcome to Brainstuff from hastaff marks dot com where smart happens. 8 00:00:31,440 --> 00:00:34,040 Speaker 1: I am Marshall Brain with today's question, what is a 9 00:00:34,120 --> 00:00:39,320 Speaker 1: funicular railway? A funicular uses the technology of an elevator, 10 00:00:39,720 --> 00:00:42,519 Speaker 1: in other words, a cable pulling a car up, and 11 00:00:42,760 --> 00:00:45,320 Speaker 1: the technology of a railroad, which is a car on 12 00:00:45,360 --> 00:00:49,120 Speaker 1: a track. Devised in the fifteen century, is a way 13 00:00:49,159 --> 00:00:52,800 Speaker 1: of getting people and things up steep hillsides. The funicular 14 00:00:52,920 --> 00:00:55,760 Speaker 1: now is more likely to carry skiers to the top 15 00:00:55,800 --> 00:00:58,280 Speaker 1: of a mountain in the United States that are often 16 00:00:58,320 --> 00:01:02,960 Speaker 1: referred to as incline railways. A conventional train could never 17 00:01:03,080 --> 00:01:06,600 Speaker 1: travel up such as steep incline because the steel train 18 00:01:06,640 --> 00:01:10,480 Speaker 1: wheels don't have enough traction against the steel rails. Trains 19 00:01:10,520 --> 00:01:13,560 Speaker 1: that do climb mountains go up tracks that spiral around 20 00:01:13,600 --> 00:01:17,280 Speaker 1: the mountain or go through many switchbacks. You might be wondering, 21 00:01:17,319 --> 00:01:20,360 Speaker 1: then why not build a train with rubber tires instead, 22 00:01:20,840 --> 00:01:23,279 Speaker 1: They might have enough traction to make it up the hills. 23 00:01:23,760 --> 00:01:27,000 Speaker 1: The reason trains have steel wheels and tracks is to 24 00:01:27,040 --> 00:01:31,600 Speaker 1: minimize rolling resistance to its absolute lowest level. This is 25 00:01:31,640 --> 00:01:35,039 Speaker 1: a force that tends to slow wheeled vehicles down. It 26 00:01:35,120 --> 00:01:38,280 Speaker 1: comes from the weight of the vehicle squishing the tires. 27 00:01:38,319 --> 00:01:40,720 Speaker 1: But even with rubber tires, it would be tough to 28 00:01:40,760 --> 00:01:43,640 Speaker 1: get enough traction on a steep slope, especially if it's 29 00:01:43,720 --> 00:01:47,800 Speaker 1: raining or snowing. The funicular conquers these problems in a 30 00:01:48,080 --> 00:01:51,440 Speaker 1: very elegant way. First, the car has pulled up the 31 00:01:51,480 --> 00:01:54,160 Speaker 1: mountain by a cable, which means that traction is no 32 00:01:54,240 --> 00:01:57,080 Speaker 1: longer an issue. The wheels just guide the car up 33 00:01:57,080 --> 00:02:00,000 Speaker 1: the mountain. They don't provide any of the pulling power 34 00:02:00,000 --> 00:02:03,120 Speaker 1: are But the true genius of the funicular is that 35 00:02:03,200 --> 00:02:07,000 Speaker 1: it uses two cars at the same time, one on 36 00:02:07,120 --> 00:02:10,720 Speaker 1: each side of a top pulley. At any one time, 37 00:02:10,919 --> 00:02:13,639 Speaker 1: one car is balancing the way to the other. The 38 00:02:13,800 --> 00:02:17,720 Speaker 1: descending cars weight helps pull the ascending car up the mountain, 39 00:02:17,840 --> 00:02:21,000 Speaker 1: and the ascending train keeps the speed of the descending 40 00:02:21,040 --> 00:02:24,200 Speaker 1: train from going out of control. There's still a motor 41 00:02:24,280 --> 00:02:27,160 Speaker 1: powering the pulley, but it only has to provide enough 42 00:02:27,160 --> 00:02:30,520 Speaker 1: force to overcome the difference in weight between the two cars. 43 00:02:30,720 --> 00:02:34,480 Speaker 1: Usually the way of the passengers is different and overcome 44 00:02:34,480 --> 00:02:37,880 Speaker 1: any friction in the system. At the kit stein Horn 45 00:02:38,000 --> 00:02:42,320 Speaker 1: Glacier in Austria, two cars carry skiers up and down 46 00:02:42,320 --> 00:02:44,959 Speaker 1: the mountain on a single cable that forms a loop 47 00:02:45,000 --> 00:02:47,920 Speaker 1: around a pulley at the top of the mountain and 48 00:02:47,960 --> 00:02:50,880 Speaker 1: then a passive pulley at the bottom. The kit stein 49 00:02:50,960 --> 00:02:54,080 Speaker 1: Horn funicular runs on electricity, which is supplied from a 50 00:02:54,120 --> 00:02:56,880 Speaker 1: power station at the top of the mountain. An electric 51 00:02:56,919 --> 00:03:00,040 Speaker 1: motor at the top keeps the cable moving. There's a 52 00:03:00,040 --> 00:03:02,440 Speaker 1: passive pully at the bottom of the mountain that provides 53 00:03:02,560 --> 00:03:06,839 Speaker 1: tension to the loop of cable. The Austrian funicular has 54 00:03:06,960 --> 00:03:09,680 Speaker 1: a single set of tracks going up the whole mountain, 55 00:03:09,720 --> 00:03:11,959 Speaker 1: except for a small section in the middle where it 56 00:03:12,080 --> 00:03:14,679 Speaker 1: splits into a double track. This is where the two 57 00:03:14,720 --> 00:03:18,440 Speaker 1: cars can pass each other. Building a funicular is quite 58 00:03:18,440 --> 00:03:21,040 Speaker 1: a feat because the track has to be laid either 59 00:03:21,280 --> 00:03:24,080 Speaker 1: on a steep mountain side or on a trestle that 60 00:03:24,280 --> 00:03:26,480 Speaker 1: rises from the side of the mountain and provides a 61 00:03:26,560 --> 00:03:32,359 Speaker 1: smooth platform. The Kistein Horn is ten thousand, four or 62 00:03:32,919 --> 00:03:37,560 Speaker 1: thirty meters tall. The tunnel that the funicular travels through 63 00:03:37,760 --> 00:03:40,960 Speaker 1: is eleven thousand, five hundred feet or thirty five hundred 64 00:03:41,000 --> 00:03:44,800 Speaker 1: meters long. It was a huge project to build this railway. 65 00:03:46,880 --> 00:03:49,240 Speaker 1: For more on this and thousands of other topics because 66 00:03:49,280 --> 00:03:51,480 Speaker 1: that house stuff works dot com, and don't forget to 67 00:03:51,520 --> 00:03:53,400 Speaker 1: check out the brain stuff block on the house stuff 68 00:03:53,400 --> 00:03:55,960 Speaker 1: works dot com home page. You can also follow brain 69 00:03:56,000 --> 00:04:03,520 Speaker 1: stuff on Facebook or Twitter at brain stuff HSW. Streaming 70 00:04:03,520 --> 00:04:05,800 Speaker 1: TV shows and movies directly to your home is a 71 00:04:05,840 --> 00:04:08,960 Speaker 1: breeze with Netflix. As a Netflix member, you can instantly 72 00:04:08,960 --> 00:04:12,000 Speaker 1: watch TV and movies on your PC, mac, mobile device, 73 00:04:12,080 --> 00:04:15,360 Speaker 1: or television. Get a free thirty day trial membership. 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