Re: wheels come off - speed doubles?

[John Clement <clement@HAL-PC.ORG>]

I wonder if this a conservation of momentum misconception?  The officer may
think that when the tire leaves the mass of the truck it speeds up because
of the reduced mass.  There is little to go on from the report, so any
misconception analysis will be pure speculation.  Another possibility is
"force continues after contact misconception" so the tire speeds up due to
the force it has when it leaves the truck.  This latter one is so extremely
widespread that students will tell me the pitcher still controls the ball
after it leaves his hand.

John M. Clement
Houston, TX

> For those who missed the truck tire article, I happened to have looked at
> it and it was still in my browser window....
>
>
> > North Carolina Highway Patrol troopers are looking for a truck driver who
> lost two large tires Wednesday.
> > The tires are wedged into the wall of Sampson County home, destroying the
> bedroom they flew into.
> > Newton Grove police believe the truck was  speeding, possible going 55 in
> a 35 mph zone,
> > when the extra wheels came off a trailer, barreling into the house at 110
> miles per hour.
> > "As they come off, it doubles in speed," said Officer John Wilson of the
> Newton Grove Police Department.
> > "The tires  had come off the trailer, through a  field, over a road,
> through the yard and into the residence."
> > No one was inside at the time, however a relative watched from
> the garden.
> > The truck did not stop.
> >
> > Troopers are using numbers on the tires to find the driver, who they said
> will be charged with hit and run.