On Fri, 11 Mar 2005 19:10:59 +0000 (UTC), "Brimstone"
I sense only two areas of confusion. Either the lorry acquires another 2mph of velocity, or not. Or the lorry does, but the driver barely notices.
To argue against the first conclusion requires that momentum be transferred elsewhere. The ground is one option, but that requires all the cab and trailer wheels to "slip" rather than freely rotate, and the other is the engine and transmission (a flywheel effect). I would conjecture both losses are relatively small - the lorry must gain momentum, and unless you consider it to be a particularly elastic enbreasty, the speed is gained over roughly the distance over which the car decelerates (a couple of feet or so for a violent impact).
Cruise Control dangerous 5264John Laird Conservation of momentum. Kinetic energy will not be conserved provided that the crumple zones work properly since...
buttuming the lorry does therefore accelerate - and if it is travelling at 56mph, and gains 2mph over 2 feet, I make that about 3.8g - it is hard indeed to see how the driver could fail to notice. (I accept some of the numbers mentioned before now may be a little high, but not so much as to be unbelievable).
So, there's my reasoning. Can you contribute anything more than your usual 1-line question in response ?
-- My HMO buttigned me to Dr. Kevorkian.
Mail john rather than nospam...
