# Square wheel

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{{Short description|none}}
[[File:Rolling-Square colored.gif|thumb|right|An animation of a square wheel rolling smoothly over inverted [catenaries](/source/catenary).]]
[[File:Thinktank Science Garden - car with square wheels (13900854766).jpg|thumb|right|A prototype square wheeled car with modified track at [Thinktank Science Garden](/source/Thinktank%2C_Birmingham_Science_Museum).]]

A '''square wheel''' is a [wheel](/source/wheel) that, instead of being [circular](/source/circle), has the shape of a [square](/source/square_(geometry)).{{circular definition|date=September 2024}} While literal square wheels exist, a more common use is as an idiom meaning stereotypically bad or naive engineering (see [reinventing the wheel](/source/reinventing_the_wheel)).

A square wheel can roll smoothly if the ground consists of evenly shaped inverted [catenaries](/source/catenary) of the right size and curvature.<ref>{{citation|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080702094140/http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/4877/title/Riding_on_Square_Wheels|archivedate=July 2, 2008|url=http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/4877/title/Riding_on_Square_Wheels|title=Riding on Square Wheels|first=Ivars|last=Peterson|newspaper=[Science News](/source/Science_News)|date=4 April 2004|volume=165|issue=14|accessdate=2009-05-03}}</ref><ref>{{citation |url=http://nths.newtrier.k12.il.us/academics/math/Connections/curves/sqwheels.htm|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20060930172827/http://nths.newtrier.k12.il.us/academics/math/Connections/curves/sqwheels.htm|archivedate=September 30, 2006 |title=A Catenary Road and Square Wheels|publisher=New Trier High School, [Winnetka, Illinois](/source/Winnetka%2C_Illinois)|accessdate=2009-05-03}}</ref><ref>{{citation|url=http://faraday.physics.uiowa.edu/mech/1M20.65.htm|title=Non-Circular Wheels|volume=Physics and Astronomy Lecture Demonstrations|publisher=[University of Iowa](/source/University_of_Iowa)|accessdate=2009-05-03}}</ref>

A different type of square-wheeled vehicle was invented in 2006 by Jason Winckler of Global Composites, Inc. in the [United States](/source/United_States). This has square wheels, linked together and offset by 22.5°, rolling on a flat surface. The prototype appears ungainly, but the inventor proposes that the system may be useful in microscopic-sized machines ([MEMS](/source/Microelectromechanical_systems)).<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Derby|first1=Stephen J.|last2=Anderson|first2=Kurt|last3=Winckler|first3=Steven|last4=Winckler|first4=Jason|date=2006|title= Volume 2: 30th Annual Mechanisms and Robotics Conference, Parts A and B|language=en|location=Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA|publisher=ASME|volume=2006|pages=811–816|doi=10.1115/DETC2006-99140|isbn=9780791842560|chapter=Motion Characteristics of a Square Wheel Car}}</ref> In 1997 Macalester College mathematics professor [Stan Wagon](/source/Stan_Wagon) constructed the first prototype of a catenary tricycle. An improved model made out of modern materials was built when the original vehicle wore out in April, 2004.<ref>{{cite web|last=Wagon|first=Stan|authorlink=Stan Wagon|title=Untitled|url=http://stanwagon.com/|accessdate=19 May 2010}}</ref>

In 2012, ''[MythBusters](/source/MythBusters_(2012_season))'' experimented with modifying vehicles with square tires, determining that, with speed, a truck fitted with square wheels can deliver a relatively smooth ride.<ref>{{citation
 | last1 = Zavrel | first1 = Erik
 | last2 = Sharpsteen | first2 = Eric
 | date = April 2016
 | doi = 10.1119/1.4944364
 | issue = 4
 | journal = The Physics Teacher
 | pages = 228–232
 | title = How the television show 'MythBusters' communicates the scientific method
 | url = https://scholar.archive.org/work/djawgihsmvf3jfkullvrs7l3xi
 | volume = 54}}</ref>

==See also==
* [Reuleaux triangle](/source/Reuleaux_triangle)
* [Non-circular gear](/source/Non-circular_gear)

==References==
{{reflist}}

Category:Wheels

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Square wheel](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Square_wheel) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Square_wheel?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.