How Do Brakes Work?

The key performance elements of a vehicle are not only how the car accelerates or handle, but also how it stops. So, how do brakes work on the modern vehicle?

The car is in interesting mechanical device from a historical perspective. How so? Well, the initial invention was fairly amazing because the basic components have never really been radically improved upon. The initial internal combustion engine is still used although it has been made lighter, more efficient and more powerful. The same thing is true for brakes. They work by using friction to slow the wheels on the vehicle.

Remember when you were younger and used a bicycle to get around. How did the brakes on that bike work? You pulled the brake on the handle bars and a wire was contracted. It was connected to the brake system at the rim. As you pulled the brake lever, the wire was pulled up and the brakes closed in on the rim and started pressing against them with the rubber rectangles all bikes had. This created friction and slowed the rims.

As strange as it sounds, the brakes on a modern car or truck work the same way. You press the brake pedal in your car and the brake system then presses against a part of the brake system and creates friction. The friction then slows the rotation of the wheel. This eventually leads to the car slowing down.

There are obviously many differences between how the brakes work on a car and a bicycle. The system on a car is hydraulic instead of wire controlled. The brakes also build up massive amounts of heat from the friction, so rubber is replaced by composite ceramics and even asbestos so that they don’t melt. There are also different types of brake systems. More and more are becoming computer controlled.

How do brakes work? It is all about friction. The good news is the brake systems on modern cars are now so efficient that many accidents are prevented because vehicles are able to stop so much quicker than on cars even 10 years ago.

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