Over the past couple of days, I have become a somewhat intense student of physics. In addition, I have developed a minor interest in chemistry. Here are some basic principles to which I have become re-introduced:
Friction (frik’-shun) – Friction is what occurs when one object comes into close contact with another object. Small surfaces in the first object interlock with surfaces on the second, affecting the velocity of either or both objects.
Velocity (vel’-ah-sit-ee) – This is how physics guys say “speed” as in rate of travel, not the stuff biker gangs sell.
Inertia (Inn-ur’-shah) – This principle states that a body which is in motion tends to stay in motion. Or, conversely, a body sitting a watching “Pineapple Express” will continue to watch “Pineapple Express” even though it has become clear that “Pineapple Express” is not a body’s kind of movie.
Matter – (mad’-urh) Stuff. Things. You know, like, an original (or perhaps Japanese) pressing of “You Can’t Buy A Thrill.” Matter exists in three states: solid, gas, and liquid. Every type of matter can be transformed from one state to the next. Water, for instance, changes from liquid to solid at 32 degrees Fahrenheit. Interestingly (and this is where the chemistry comes in) the addition of sodium chloride to water will lower the point at which it becomes solid to between 28 and 24 degrees Fahrenheit. At 21 degrees, that stuff is solid as a rock, no matter what you do.
So when one controls the trajectory and velocity of an object operating in ambient temperatures around 21 degrees, one should be aware of the principles of physics and a little chemistry. Objects with a mass of over, say, 1,500 pounds will tend to adhere strongly to the principle of inertia. Under normal conditions, these objects will rely on friction to modulate their velocity. The thing about water in a solid state, however, is that it usually offers very little surface disruption, therefore producing virtually no friction. Given this reality, it is imperative on the operator to reduce the object’s velocity while increasing the distance between the object and other objects.
In other words, you, dude with the jeep that plays Wagner from the roof rack, you need to slow the hell down and back the frick off because they don’t need you to bus tables at Ryan’s so badly that you need to wreck into me in the process of getting there. (That last part not so much my work as it was Heisenberg’s)