As a kid, this was my "solution" for traffic problems (we didn't worry about dependence on foreign oil in those days). Multi-laned streets. No need for cars. Just jump on the slowest, right-hand belt. It would be going at 5 mph. In a hurry? Jump one belt to your left; it would be going 10 mph. And so on. I don't think I ever determined what the maximum speed would be.
.
To get off, you kept just jumping one conveyor belt at a time to the right, deceleratng by 5 mph with each jump, until you were in the slow, right-most lane. Intersections were no problem - just build an overpass.
.
It made sense to my 7-year-old mind. Of course, I had no comprehension of (and no interest in) the energy needed to power such a conveyor system. That's why I'm a chemist, not a chemical engineer. Scientists have visions; engineers make them reality.
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Traffic Conveyor
As a kid, this was my "solution" for traffic problems (we didn't worry about dependence on foreign oil in those days). Multi-laned streets. No need for cars. Just jump on the slowest, right-hand belt. It would be going at 5 mph. In a hurry? Jump one belt to your left; it would be going 10 mph. And so on. I don't think I ever determined what the maximum speed would be.
.
To get off, you kept just jumping one conveyor belt at a time to the right, deceleratng by 5 mph with each jump, until you were in the slow, right-most lane. Intersections were no problem - just build an overpass.
.
It made sense to my 7-year-old mind. Of course, I had no comprehension of (and no interest in) the energy needed to power such a conveyor system. That's why I'm a chemist, not a chemical engineer. Scientists have visions; engineers make them reality.
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