An online video about a wind-powered car by Youtuber Derek Muller, the creator of the science channel Veritasium on YouTube, sparked a scientific discussion between him and physics professor Alexander Kusenko of the University of California.
Since both parties could not agree on whether the wind-powered car could cruise faster than the wind, their change of ideas has turned into a bet worth $10,000 in which Neil deGrasse Tyson and Bill Nye stood as witnesses of their bet.
What's with the Bet?
For Kusenko, Muller's claim was plain wrong. He said that the laws of physics do not agree with Muller and that he is confident in not risking anything. But for Muller, who himself had tried his hands on the wind-powered car Blackbird, he said that it is 2.8 times faster than the wind speed.
Their bet all started with an online video Muller posted on May 29 this year, showing his experience with the Blackbird, a vehicle that set records to outrun the wind while cruising downstream, News18 reported. He is convinced by the claim of Blackbird engineer Rick Cavallaro.
However, upon seeing the video, Kusenko wrote to Muller and said that the physical explanation was wrong. They debated over it, and ultimately Muller invited Kusenko for a $10,000 bet, which both parties instantly agreed.
With Neil deGrasse Tyson and Bill Nye as witnesses, they agreed that Muller has to successfully demonstrate a model vehicle that works on the same principle of operation as the Blackbird for him to win.
Kusenko claims that what happened to the video is misinterpreted because of the variation in wind speeds. He and other scientists said that Muller's explanation defies the laws of physics because wind-powered vehicles can only exceed wind speeds when they are at an angle to the wind direction and not when they exactly parallel to the downward force, Inceptive Mind reported.
However, Muller was unconvinced and said that the Blackbird could accelerate even it is at a higher speed than the wind. So, he tested his claims by building a model downwind cart with the help of fellow YouTuber Xyla Foxlin and tested it using a treadmill.
Who Won the $10,000 Bet?
The wind-powered car looks like a windmill attached to an F1 race car, with wheels that power its turbine and a propeller that spins backward to generate thrust. Muller explained that the propeller spins faster, and so do the wheels as the vehicle races downwind, which pushes it faster than the initial wid speed.
"When the speed of the car is exactly equal to the speed of the wind, it seems like the propeller can provide infinite force," Vice quoted Muller saying in his video, citing one of Kusenko's biggest problems with the experiment. "This is exactly what you'd expect with any lever or pulley. If one arm of the lever is zero, then you can lift an infinite weight with any amount of force on the other side."
After working out some design flaws, the model downwind cart showed that it would always gain speed and move faster than the treadmill, proving Muller's claim and made him the winner of the bet.
Muller said in a Twitter post that Professor Kusenko has already conceded the bet and transferred the $10,000 to him. Here's the video of how Muller has proven that he is right.
Check out more news and information on Physics & Math in Science Times.
