From: jon e prevo <tcbracer@juno.com>
>Lets say you are pulling a trailer behind that car, with big heavy 15"
>steel wheels. Are you suggesting that the vehicle will do as much work
>to create rotational motion in those wheels as it does to create
>rotational motion in the drive wheels?
Of course.
>Is that work greater than the
>work required to move the weight of the trailer?
No, it is PART of the work required to accelerate the trailer.
>Work transmitted through the drive wheels creates motion. The drive
>wheels have to be turned for the motion to take place, therefore the
>engine not only moves the vehicle but also turns the wheels. This is
>where the rotational mass becomes an issue. Free wheels are not directly
>turned by the engine,
Moot point. They are turned by the power of the engine, whether directly
via shafts or indirectly via the road.
Phil Ethier Saint Paul Minnesota USA
1970 Lotus Europa, 1992 Saturn SL2, 1986 Chev Suburban
LOON, MAC pethier@isd.net http://www.mnautox.com/
"If I can do it, it's not art" - Red Green
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