dre@megatest.UUCP (06/15/83)
I have vague memories of a physics lecture I attended in college where the
prof developed a wave equation for traffic jams. It was identical to
compressing a spring with a mass, except the factors were "jumpiness," or
propensity to tailgate the guy in front of you, and "fear" of slamming into
his rear end. Thus your speed tends to sinusoidally oscillate. I leave it
to you to develop the equations ("proof left to the reader as an
exercise").
Dave Emberson
Megatest Corp.
Sunnyvale, CA
megatest!dre