Speaker
Carl Mungan
(U.S. Naval Academy)
Description
The free-body diagram of a unicycle pedaled across level ground is analyzed, showing that riders must tilt their bodies into the direction of the acceleration. A comparison is made with an unpowered round object rolling without slipping up or down an inclined plane. A Newtonian analysis predicts an acceleration of the unicycle as a function of the tilt angle that is in good agreement with measurements of an actual unicycle using the accelerometer on a smartphone. This work has been performed in collaboration with Heiko Kabutz, Ph.D. student of mechanical engineering at the University of Colorado in Boulder.
Primary author
Carl Mungan
(U.S. Naval Academy)
