Math Trek Math

Riding on Square Wheels

By Ivars Peterson

- More than 2 years ago

A square wheel may be the ultimate flat tire. There’s no way it can roll over a flat, smooth road without a sequence of jarring bumps.

Stan Wagon rides his square-wheeled trike over a special roadway. Courtesy of Stan Wagon

A hanging chain.

A square rolling on a bed of inverted catenaries.

A view of the rear of Wagon’s new square-wheeled trike.