The thread about bicycle racing reminded me of the old days (1970s) of the
"energy crisis" when truck drivers insisted they would less total energy if
allowed to have double-, triple-, quadruple-, .... bottom trucks. Iowa
allows double-bottom, I think, but nothing more, but I have seen longer
trucks on the road in other states.
Of course, what the truck drivers wanted was something more and more like a
train, except riding on the interstates instead of tracks.
I remember also their insistence that driving 65 mph was really more
energy-efficient (as well as time-efficient) than driving 55 mph. The
Department of Energy (or maybe ERDA in those days) did a test with a group
of identical trucks driving an identical route all around Virginia, but
going at different maximum speeds. The slowest (30-mph) truck was the most
energy-efficient, of course, blowing the truck drivers' argument away.
Laurent Hodges, Professor of Physics
12 Physics Hall, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011-3160
lhodges@iastate.edu http://www.public.iastate.edu/~lhodges