Aristotle's wheel paradox

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Aristotle's wheel paradox is a paradox from the Greek work Mechanica traditionally
attributed to Aristotle. There are two wheels, one within the other, whose rims take
the shape of two circles with different diameters. The wheels roll without slipping for
a full revolution. The paths traced by the bottoms of the wheels are straight lines,
which are apparently the wheels' circumferences. But the two lines have the same
length, so the wheels must have the same circumference, contradicting the assumption
that they have different sizes: a paradox.

The fallacy is the assumption that the smaller wheel indeed traces out its
circumference, without ensuring that it, too, rolls without slipping on a fixed surface.
In fact, it is impossible for both wheels to perform such motion. Physically, if two
joined concentric wheels with different radii were rolled along parallel lines then at
least one would slip; if a system of cogs were used to prevent slippage then the wheels
would jam. A modern approximation of such an experiment is often performed by car
drivers who park too close to a curb. The car's outer tire rolls without slipping on the
road surface while the inner hubcap both rolls and slips across the curb; the slipping is
evidenced by a screeching noise.[1]

Alternatively, the fallacy is the assumption that the smaller wheel is independent of
the larger wheel. Imagine a tire as the larger wheel, and imagine the smaller wheel as
the interior circumference of the tire and not as the rim. The movement of the inner
circle is dependent on the larger circle. Thus its movement from any point to another
can be calculated by using an inverse of their ratio.

References
1. Bunch, Bryan H. (1982). Mathematical Fallacies and Paradoxes. Van
Nostrand Reinhold. pp. 39. ISBN 0-442-24905-5.

Further reading
Rota Aristotelica, The Archimedes Project, Digital Research Library
Weisstein, Eric W., "Aristotle's Wheel Paradox", MathWorld.
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