eli5 how a complete rotation of wheel measures the length of circumstance with the same rotation the inner portion having less circumstance also covers the same distance.

Question

Sorry circumference.

In: 0

Answer 1

Imagine two ants that want to race by getting on the wheel of a bike. One is on the tire and one is near the hub.

At the beginning, the tire ant is near the ground. As the wheel starts to turn, the hub ant moves forward while the tire ant just kind of moves upward. Hub ant thinks he’s gonna win for sure.

As the wheel keeps turning, tire ant picks up speed upward and forward. When the tire ant is at the top of the rotation, he’s going twice as fast as the hub ant! Tire ant thinks he’s got the race in the bag and hub ant is shocked.

As the wheel keeps turning, the tire ant slows down again and starts moving downward. At the bottom of the rotation, the tire ant comes to a complete stop. The hub ant takes the lead again.

Ultimately, both ants travel the same average speed, with the tire ant going twice as fast and then coming to a stop over and over again while the hub ant maintains a more constant speed.