Next message: George Istok: "Re: Navigating Around Hills and Dips in the Ocean"
Michael-
<it's still a zero sum game what goes up must come down.>
Yes, in that the "potential energy" stored in the traveler increases as it climbs and decreases as it comes back down.
No, in that it takes energy consumption to RAISE the traveler UP the hill, and that energy is simply lost as the traveler comes back down to the lower energy potential at the end of the trip.
That's why walking UP a mountain is so much harder and slower than simply walking in a straight line. The "coming down" part never compensates for the energy spent going up, in practical terms.
