Originally Posted by
Vessbot
Well there was a loss of energy, but there was a gain in speed (and you're right about your inference, under the assumption of ~1G, of the very low likelihood of stall). In a discussion like this it's particularly important not to say "energy" as a stand-in for "kinetic energy." Normally that's a nitpicky pet peeve of mine, but here it actually matters as it introduces an ambiguity in a central area of the discussion.
I say energy as a stand in for 'energy'. GPE + KE = Energy. Looking at the graph, total energy remains relatively constant.
Does it not?