Can an object roll up hill?

Question

Is it true that due to an anomaly with either the gravitational or magnetic force, that there are some places on earth where an object can roll up hill without any additional force, or is it just a myth?

Answer 1

http://math.ucr.edu/home/baez/physics/General/roll-uphill.html

Answer 2

On the Earth there is no location where an object could roll up hill.

Yes, there are magnetic gravitational and magnetic anomalies in the Earth. But, we are talking minor anomalies hidden deep in the Earth's mantle, which is mostly molten. Sometimes a large chunk of iron or dense metals can form near the top of the mantle creating these anomalies, but you can't get to them, unless you are willing to drill inside a volcano, and the force of these anomalies is diffuse, they aren’t concentrated enough to move a ball around. If the anomaly’s force could be concentrated form thousands of cubic feet to one cubic foot then maybe you could use it to attract a ball, if you could get a ball into the mantle, and create one that would survive more than a few microseconds.

Answer 3

There are places with weird looking horizons where a downward slope looks strangely like a downward slope.
As for things rolling uphill you can forget about it, that just breaks too many well known and well tested laws of physics.
For the pedantic there are a few exceptions:
Engines/batteries/motors etc.. clearly cheating
Underground magnets being pulled up the hill.. also cheating
An off centre mass could be made to move up by a few revolutions
Wind

Always remember the 3 most important laws of science.
1)An incredible claim requires an incredible proof.
2)Given enough results you can pick one that appears to prove anything.
3)Given several explanations the simplest is probably correct.
Everytime you hear something amazing just think about these.

Answer 4

It's a myth. There's a place in scotland called electric brae or something, where if you're in the car in neutral it will roll up the hill. But really it's just an optical illusion. Due to the surrounding scenery, the road seems to be rising when in fact the opposite is true

Answer 5

There is not a place that you can roll objects uphill, but I have read of a trick you can do to make an object roll uphill.

1) Take 2 washing up bottles (the cylinders like older style fairy).
2) Cut the tops off and tape them back to back, so you have a tapered disc.
3) place 2 sticks in a slope of about 35˚. The sticks should be closer at the bottom than at the top.

Gravity is pulling down on the cylinder, but because it cant get down the narrow gap at the bottom, it tries to move so it can get down, therefore it rolls uphill as the sticks get wider up there and the tapers slide it along

This is a tricky stunt, so it takes practice to get it to work. Its a sort of trick of physics rather than point fact.

Answer 6

i'm 10, so this is a guess.

I think, if u want to get an object up a hill magnetically, u might need a powerfull magnetic object (depending on the size of the hill, and the size and magnetic power of the object).

I'm sorry, but this is JUST A GUESS. thx, jake

Answer 7

Given the title of your question, I was going to say roller-coaster, but with the elaboration, it's just a myth. But there's a subtlety here: how would you define "uphill" except by the apparent direction of the force of gravity? So the bottom line is: No, by tautology.

Answer 8

If there is a force acting on it that is more powerful than the gravitational force... Like magnetism

Answer 9

It depends on your definition of up. Which is usually loosly based on some orthogonal notion independent to physical behaviour of gravity which is itself curved. A commet, flung by a stonger gravitional orbit may land and appear to role up a hill. Tough question to answer standing on your head.

Answer 10

I seem to remember seeing something about a place that had an optical illusion that things went uphill.
Ah, here it is....Magnetic Hill

Answer 11

This is true, Its an optical illusion caused by reasons waaaay over my head but the closest one to me is in the South of Ayrshire, its called 'the electric brae',and it looks like your car is rolling uphill when its really going down.