Just passed by a train with a hundred or so cargo crates. how do they start? I understand how they continue moving, but how do they overcome the inertia of starting it? It has to be like thousands of tons, and I can’t imagine a bunch of coal being able to start moving that. unless of course it can, in which ELI5
In: Engineering
Simple. Try pushing a heavy box. Then push said heavy box when it’s on some kind of cart. It’s much, much easier.
Friction is what makes you unable to push something heavy. Wheels make friction much less.
It might be slow to start and stop, but actually getting it moving takes far less than you’d think.
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