http://www.illiteratewithdrawal.com/2008/03/shockwave-traffic-jam/ Interesting news, sports, investing, and political commentary. Wed, 25 Jan 2012 05:03:28 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 http://www.illiteratewithdrawal.com/2008/03/shockwave-traffic-jam/comment-page-1/#comment-5379 ross Thu, 06 Mar 2008 07:30:19 +0000 http://www.illiteratewithdrawal.com/2008/03/shockwave-traffic-jam/#comment-5379 That is an interesting question... With the cars starting from a standstill and in a line (not initially spanning the entire track): The front driver wouldn't have a limit on his speed until he wraps around and is just behind the "last" car... within reason, the front driver is likely to assume that the car directly behind him will maintain their proper distance (by the 2nd car speeding up). Likewise, the 3rd car would speed up to maintain proper distance with the 2nd car... and so on (I doubt drivers would slow down to maintain proper distance with the car behind him/her) . If all the cars are able to get up to the speed that the lead car set while maintaining comfortable distance between eachother, then I think they would be fine. However, if the lead car goes too fast, then he will wrap around and be slowed by the "last" car. The 2nd car would then slow down, followed by the 3rd car, and so on. I think pretty quickly from this point the cars would converge to a near-ideal speed: one that maximizes the average speed of the cars as a group, while letting drivers maintain comfortable distances between eachother. So I think the traffic would flow fine (possibly after a short period) because of the additional control the drivers are given to determine their own speeds. That would be an interesting experiment to see. It's late and I'm tired, so hopefully that wasn't absolutely complete rubbish :D That is an interesting question… With the cars starting from a standstill and in a line (not initially spanning the entire track): The front driver wouldn’t have a limit on his speed until he wraps around and is just behind the “last” car… within reason, the front driver is likely to assume that the car directly behind him will maintain their proper distance (by the 2nd car speeding up). Likewise, the 3rd car would speed up to maintain proper distance with the 2nd car… and so on (I doubt drivers would slow down to maintain proper distance with the car behind him/her) . If all the cars are able to get up to the speed that the lead car set while maintaining comfortable distance between eachother, then I think they would be fine. However, if the lead car goes too fast, then he will wrap around and be slowed by the “last” car. The 2nd car would then slow down, followed by the 3rd car, and so on. I think pretty quickly from this point the cars would converge to a near-ideal speed: one that maximizes the average speed of the cars as a group, while letting drivers maintain comfortable distances between eachother.
So I think the traffic would flow fine (possibly after a short period) because of the additional control the drivers are given to determine their own speeds.
That would be an interesting experiment to see.
It’s late and I’m tired, so hopefully that wasn’t absolutely complete rubbish

]]> http://www.illiteratewithdrawal.com/2008/03/shockwave-traffic-jam/comment-page-1/#comment-5376 Scott K Thu, 06 Mar 2008 04:58:12 +0000 http://www.illiteratewithdrawal.com/2008/03/shockwave-traffic-jam/#comment-5376 I wish they would have added a second trial in which the drivers could speed up or slow down to try and maintain the correct spacing. As it was done, I think the drivers were told to try and maintain a constant 30 kph. I wonder if the traffic would flow better longer or would traffic jam problems develop sooner? I wish they would have added a second trial in which the drivers could speed up or slow down to try and maintain the correct spacing. As it was done, I think the drivers were told to try and maintain a constant 30 kph. I wonder if the traffic would flow better longer or would traffic jam problems develop sooner?

]]> http://www.illiteratewithdrawal.com/2008/03/shockwave-traffic-jam/comment-page-1/#comment-5372 ross Thu, 06 Mar 2008 01:31:44 +0000 http://www.illiteratewithdrawal.com/2008/03/shockwave-traffic-jam/#comment-5372 That's pretty cool. If you want to run this experiment for yourself but are on a budget, I recommend using a yogurt-container lid and a couple dozen well-trained ants. That’s pretty cool.
If you want to run this experiment for yourself but are on a budget, I recommend using a yogurt-container lid and a couple dozen well-trained ants.

]]>