On Fri, 8 Aug 2008 08:10:49 -0400, "Eisboch" wrote:

I forget the mechanical stuff, but it takes something like 3
times the amount of power to get something in motion than it does to
maintain that motion.

Not exactly. It is true that if you are sliding something, it will
take more force, not power, to get it started than to maintain it in
motion at minimum speed. As for power, that is rate of doing work.
Work is force applied times distance moved.