P'art of the day: The Brakes from the NAE LSR

Todays p'art really is 'State of the p'art'. Unlike regular brakes which create friction between surfaces that are forced together to bring a vehicle to a halt, these brakes operate without contact between the braking surfaces

Instead a large circular Neodymium Iron Boron magnet (the black disc above) is held stationary and a metallic conductor, in this case aluminium due to its low density and good conduction (the finned silver disc) is fixed to the wheel so that it spins while the vehicle travels

When the vehicle needs to decelerate the magnet disc is moved close to the conductor disc, by a hydraulic actuator, without actually touching it (as above). The relative movement of the discs creates eddy currents between the discs. These eddy currents create an opposing electromagnetic force in the conductor which works against the spinning of the wheels and slows the car down

The advantage of this system is that because there's no contact friction and the braking force is a product of the relative speed the brakes are unlockable. If the brakes locked the wheel would stop and there would no longer be any eddy currents.

Interestingly the conductor does not have to be magnetic (Aluminium isn't magnetic) it just has to be able to conduct electricity. Apparently at 800MPH (the target top speed) The brakes generate 4700bhp of braking force, but the forces associated with using them at that speed are so considerable that the system can only be utilised at 400MPH and below.

Due to the unique nature of todays part it would be appropriate to look briefly at the vehicle its been designed to stop. The tastefully named North American Eagle is a bit of a strange bird...

It's actually a Lockheed F-104 Starfighter with the wings cut off. Compared to previous modern LSR attempt cars the bugdet for this project is extremely low.While a small team of experts and enthusiasts building a grassroots, 'backyard special' land speed record car sounds like the premise for a bad movie, the fact that its actually happening in real life is pretty cool.

Coupled with the fact that its based on a plane from the 50's that in its day got nicknames like 'The Missile with a Man in it', 'The Widowmaker' and 'The Flying Coffin' (Canada lost 50% of their F-104's to accidents), It's pretty badass...

...Apparently they're still looking for a driver.