Physics Involved
In a normal turn, the rear wheels follow the front ones because the resistance in the forward direction (i.e. where the wheels turn) is significantly less than in the sideways direction, and the latter provides the centripetal force that makes the rear end follow the turn. When the driver locks the rear wheels with the handbrake, both directions have the same resistance, so the rear end tends to keep moving in the original direction (inertia) and thus it slides out.
Read more about this topic: Handbrake Turn
Famous quotes containing the words physics and/or involved:
“Mathematics should be mixed not only with physics but with ethics.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“Why does philosophy use concepts and why does faith use symbols if both try to express the same ultimate? The answer, of course, is that the relation to the ultimate is not the same in each case. The philosophical relation is in principle a detached description of the basic structure in which the ultimate manifests itself. The relation of faith is in principle an involved expression of concern about the meaning of the ultimate for the faithful.”
—Paul Tillich (1886–1965)