You are walking and about to go up an escalator. The escalator is not in function and so there is no speed difference in the ground.
However, upon stepping on it, a common experience is to “feel” the jolt as if the speed differential is there.
The same happens when stepping off.
The effect seems to happen to a large range of people and persists even if one walks with their eyes closed.
Why is this?
In: Engineering
If you’re expecting the change in velocity (ie, you’re not paying attention and don’t notice the escalator isn’t moving) but don’t feel it, you’ll get that jolt because you’ve braced yourself for it. This is a bit like the “phantom step,” when you think there’s a step but there isn’t, so your foot falls very awkwardly.
Another potential cause is that an escalator’s steps are not the same height as normal steps, so the first step or two will catch someone off guard. Additionally, since the steps raise/lower at each end of the escalator, there will be steps of very atypical height at the beginning and end.
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