Legality of Downwards-Sloping Ramps

[Jared Russell]

Originally Posted by Basel A

You say that in net terms, the upwards part of the ramp outweighs the downwards part, but it's not about net change.

Yes, it is. Energy is a quantity. You can't attribute specific moments in the minibot climb to specific Joules of energy from one source or another - it only makes sense to talk about energy in a net sense. And a downward sloping ramp with a higher "exit" than "entrance" is a net energy sink to the minibot, just as a level ramp is...

Ramps have some obvious and not-so-obvious advantages for minibot deployment. But energy (kinetic + gravitational potential) at the end of the ramp vs. the start is not one of them. (Now start talking about how the rate of energy conversion - power - of a DC motor varies with load/speed and you'll be on the right track).