ok, lets see how clever you are

[d000hg]

No it wouldn't. As long as the speed matches on the straight bits it doesn't matter how much longer it is.

That assumes they rotate independently and would require a device to measure the speed on the straight and adjust it (or a man to come along and tweak it every now and then). With escalators being pretty old technology, I think that's not the case?

[MyUserName]

Because the mirror reflects without reversing. Stuff at the bottom stays at the bottom, stuff at the left stays on the left etc.

Why?

[original PM]

ok yeah see what you mean

[alluvial]

Why?

If you imagine that some writing on a piece of glass is being reflected in the mirror. What you are now seeing is what you would see if you turned the glass over and viewed it from the rear.

Edit: Oh hang on, that's not right.

[mudskipper]

Because the mirror reflects without reversing. Stuff at the bottom stays at the bottom, stuff at the left stays on the left etc.

When you look directly at something you are turned through half a circle and so left and right get swapped, but you don't have the same effect on up and down.

Have you tried standing on a mirror?

[vetran]

watch the join on the hand rail it appears in different places each revolution.

the handrail can be run from a 1:1 gear connected to the escalator, the hand rail is a loop so is the escalator. If the handrail is 1.5 times the length of the escalator it will do one loop for every 1.5 times the escalator does a loop.

don't need to be at different speeds.

[d000hg]

But with standard gearing, you're not able to get it precise enough, are you? I mean typically on a whole escalator trip, the difference is perhaps 2 feet? Given the length of the run that's already pretty close.

[stek]

But with standard gearing, you're not able to get it precise enough, are you? I mean typically on a whole escalator trip, the difference is perhaps 2 feet? Given the length of the run that's already pretty close.

But they never have slower handrails, I've never fell backwards yet anyway at the end....

[vetran]

HowStuffWorks "How Escalators Work"

seem to be belt driven from the same motor , so one assumes the handrail has less loading so if the steps are overloaded the handrail will move faster as the steps belt is slipping / straining.