You have been hired to design a stunt for the next James Bond movie, tentatively titled “The Dr. from Russia with the Golden Finger Lives Twice.” The script calls for Bond to drive his car onto the frozen Niagara River (which is 100 m wide) heading straight for Niagara Falls, while being chased by a car full of SPECTRE agents. Bond’s car is to be equipped with gadgets from Q that will allow him to change direction to get off the river before going over the Falls, and either stop the SPECTRE car or send it out of control and over the Falls – remember, the river is covered with ice and the cars will have little traction. The producers want an exciting scene with something flashier than simply shooting guns at the pursuing car.
You are free to design the gadgets for Bond’s car, selecting any materials you need so long as you can clearly justify the choices and how they play into your design and so long as they can be reasonably built into the stunt car. The producers want sketches of the gadgets and the set-up of the stunt, and calculations of how the cars will behave. Your design should make use of at least two fundamental principles (i.e., conservation of linear momentum, energy, and/or angular momentum).
A good solution is not just equations and numeric predictions, but will include commen- tary and discussion of those equations and predictions. We encourage you to use the simplest model that correctly captures the essential physics. We also encourage you to reflect on your design and discuss how your model could be refined to provide a more accurate representation of the physics in your design.