NASCAR & Chemical

Reactions!
By Rajiv Mishra

Chemical Reactions

Combustion
Acid Base
Decomposition
Single
Displacement
Double
Displacement

What is Combustion Reaction?

Chemical change
that is the oxidation
with the production
of heat and light.
These reactions are
endothermic and
require constant
energy input from
the combustion
reactions.

The Fire Triangle

The fire triangle or

combustion
triangle is a simple
model for
understanding the
ingredients
necessary for most
fires.

Activation Energy

Minimum energy
required to start a
chemical reaction.

Why is the Fire Triangle important?

The combination of
Heat, oxygen and
fuel is very
dangerous and can
cause a fire almost
instantaneously,
caused by this very
chain reaction.

How is the cook top of your stove a

real life example of fire triangle?

The cook top of a

stove uses fuel,
oxygen and heat in
order for a fire to
develop.

What is a Combustion Engine?

The internal
combustion engine
or an ICE is an
engine in which the
combustion of a
fuel occurs with an
oxidizer in a
combustion
chamber.

How does it work?

In a ICE the expansion of the high

temperature and pressure gases,
which are produced by the
combustion, directly applies force to
a movable component of the engine
(pistons or turbine blades) and by
moving it over a distance, generate
useful mechanical energy.

NASCAR Engines and Car Engines

The displacement is large:

358 cubic inches (5.87 liters).
Not many cars have engines
this big, but the ones that do
usually generate more than
300 horsepower.
into the cylinders, especially
at high speeds (see How
Camshafts Work for more
details).
The intake and exhaust are
tuned and tested to provide a
boost at certain engine
speeds. They are also
designed to have very low
restriction, and there are no
mufflers or catalytic
converters to slow the
exhaust down either.

Nitrous Oxide

Nitrous Oxide, well

known in the
streets as Nos/Nitro
increases the
horsepower.
This Oxide is very
dangerous and very
flammable and uses
a lot of gasoline
when used in a car.

Cheating in NASCAR
In general, cheaters use three
methods to make their cars go
faster: They improve its
aerodynamics, increase the amount
of oxygen that gets to the carburetor,
or boost its fuel capacity.
http://www.stockcarracing.com/techa
rticles/general/scrp_0607_auto_race
_cheating/index.html