Silver,

Sounds like you have a background in physics or engineering mechanics. If so, you will really enjoy www.sexyloops.com on their bullitin board. They have a topic on casting analysis with international contributors like Grunde Lovell, Gordon Judd and others. Turns out the whole subject is very complex. Beware that many of the contributors are European and into distance casting.

I almost always think of casting as an energy balance. Helps to understand strange things like why the loop accelerates as it unrolls and why all the potential energy stored in the deflected rod is not returned to the line. But to the average caster, the math stops at velocity and even acceleration is a little beyond their interest. I wrote that series of articles in a bubble because I had not been exposed to other mathematical sources. There are mistakes in there but at a macro level, they are essentially correct. JC really didn't respond well to them but I think we came to understand each other better later on.

There is a school of people, the majority really, that are more into just doing it and don't really care why things happen. And that's okay. But some of us are driven to a different place and are compelled to understand. Sounds like you may have that sickness too.

Bob