>From Man-Hours and Distribution, by M. King Hubbert, 1940 http://www.technocracy.org/pamphlets/man-hours-distribution.html Growth of Production with Time "Every physical quantity that changes with time does so under very definite physical limitations. Industrial production, being, a physical process, therefore proceeds under ordinary physical limitations. One of the most common types of physical growth is that in which a quantity increases by a fixed percentage of itself in equal time intervals. This is exactly equivalent to the increase in the principal of a sum of money at compound interest, where the interest is compounded continuously rather than per year. We shall speak of this as being a compound-interest type of growth. "Practically all industrial. production in its earlier stages increases with a compound-interest type of growth. From the Civil War to the World War, American industrial growth was at such a rate as to double itself once about every twelve years. This would correspond to an instantaneous rate of increase of about 6 percent per annum. "One of the basic principles of any such growth is that it is physically impossible for it to continue more than temporarily, for otherwise it would soon reach such proportions as to require more materials than exist in the entire earth. It also would outrun the capacity of the public to consume. "It follows, therefore, that the next stage of physical growth must be one of leveling off. The leveled-off stage may continue, or else be followed by a declining stage in which the quantity may become stabilized at a lower level than its maximum, or else continue to decline to zero. "The point at which the transition from the first stage of growth (that where the increase each year is greater than that of the year before) to the second stage, where the growth is definitely slowing down and the curve is leveling off, is called the point of inflection of the curve." Regards, Tom Walker ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ #408 1035 Pacific St. Vancouver, B.C. V6E 4G7 [EMAIL PROTECTED] (604) 669-3286 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ The TimeWork Web: http://www.vcn.bc.ca/timework/
