| of the objects within the "system" observed. Leather and cloth have different densities, but we are looking at objects which the mass of the leather covering on the seats makes up virtually a negligible inertial value as compared to if they were made from cloth. Theoretically, cloth seats would have lessened the transfer of impact energy to my body solely for the fact that cloth has greater elasticity than leather; it would have absorbed more of the impact energy than leather would - analogous to the difference between a bungee jumper diving off a platform with a "rubber" cord attached as compared to using a steel cord. However, the difference in material elasticity is negligible due to the fact that the force of impact is so great - analogous to the difference of impact force you would experience if you jumped off the Empire State building with a pair of rubber-soled shoes vs. leather soled shoes. Either case, the impact force transferred to your feet is so great that the difference in material durometry is negligible - i.e. you're gonna go "SPLAT" when you hit the ground irregardless of the shoes you are wearing. What I am getting at has nothing to do with the elastomeric nature of the seat covering material - it has everything to do with the frictional resistance the material offers against your body sliding around upon its surface. With a cloth covered seat, my body would not have slid up the seat back as much as it did with the leather covering, thereby lessening the vertical velocity translation of my body - I would have felt more horizontal force pushing me into the back of the seat as a result, but that force is far easier to handle physiologically than the impact of my head into the roof of the car. The force of impact is a given - that's dependent on the difference of velocity and mass of the colliding objects. However, The quantity of forces that the driver experiences is fundamentally dependent on the characteristics of the materials and geometrical arrangement of the materials within the object. This is the point where my experience with leather seats comes into play. :)
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Are you an enthusiast? If you are out to describe the truth, leave elegance to the tailor.
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08:57:08 08/25/07
