Will This Truck Pulled by a Magnet Move?

A truck with a steel plate connected to the front is pulled forward by a magnet. However the magnet is connected by a rigid beam which attaches it to the truck.

Ultimately the magnet is going to pull forward on the truck, but the beam is going to act backward on the truck, meaning the truck will not move forward.

[josephreagan]

If the magnet pulls the car toward itself (>), it is also pulling itself toward the car (<). The net result is (Car>)(<magnet); thus, they cancel out.

[Germanstormer]

Sometimes though, I just wish the troll logic would actually work and just shock everyone lol

[UderoLohano]

Newton had to make that stupid law 🤦‍♂️

[Gozieaaa]

Newtons first law: an object at rest will remain at rest unless acted upon by an external force, all forces will cancel each other out regardless of the setup

[cmplx]

Even though I've always been pretty good in Physics sometimes you forget the basics and need help.... you explained it pretty well :D

[Chris_winthers]

But what if i removed the beam and Levitated the magnet with a second magnet underneath the first one?

[mattcarling]

Just mount a giant magnet to your neighbours car when they're not looking. Problem solved.

[averageoverthinker]

Homie really said pushing on the steering wheel is the same as this magnet concept. Bro what? No it absolutely is not lmao

[kerokeropi]

Honestly the best comparison I have for this is like lifting yourself up

[marcelofaviodesigner]

Consider my theory: it is not the "magnet" pulling the truck but the invisible magnetic interactions. THERE IS AN INVISIBLE MOTOR INTERACTION that does not come from a force of the magnet itself but of the distance between the two parts in interaction.

[Deenaderka]

The law of conservation of energy states that energy cannot be created or destroyed, but can be transferred from one form to another. This law is based on the first law of thermodynamics

[tfisahandlebro]

get two trucks and put one with a magnet on the back in the front, staying close enough to the one in the back for it to move

[RationalThots]

Stupid question - What if the beam was mounted onto the plate and not the car ?

[bmurcze]

Since the studied system (solid indeformable) is the car + beam + magnet, the force between the magnet and the car is an inner force and therefore does not intervene in the fundamental principle of dynamics, so has no effect on the movement.
Is that all right?

[Grim_Fate]

I wish we never let Newton write those silly laws so i can finally have my tricked out magnet truck.

[beamertoy]

If we’re talking about a magnet big and strong enough to move an entire car, wouldn’t one end of the beam that’s attached to the car end up tearing right through it as both magnets smash together?

[dragslay]

Why not replace a part of the crane with a spring and make the magnet an electro-magnet, that way when the electromagnet is turned on by some current, it coils the spring and touches the Metal on the car, then the current can be turned off and the potential energy in the spring propels the car forward. the current supplied to electromanget would be minimal with the maximal energy created by the spring, hence it is efficient.

[SabastianDuke]

What if you had a rotating front wheel where the front magnet would be 8 magnets that all face outwards. So it wouldn’t constantly be pulling, it would have a pull and release effect.

Also, inside of the 8 arms that the circle of magnets are attached to, there would be bearings inside of each arm that would fall forward from centrifugal force as the circle rotates.

[marycarrillo]

Man this guy newton is really destroying my childhood dream

[Agent_Connors]

I have a question. Though, instead of attaching a magnet to the car, what if we use a paper clip?