The R/C makes no sense
What does Doc's R/C display? More accurately, what do the displayed numbers signify?
Before you hurry to answer something stupid and thoughtless, like 'SPEED, duhh", let me elaborate.
Doc first puts on some sort of break, which apparently acts as the front wheel break lock of some kind. Fine. Then he starts accelerating, but the car stays put, the car is not moving. The back tires are spinning like crazy (I don't think this would be an efficient or advisable way to accelerate, no matter what the situation, but that's beside the point).
Now, we see the numbers go up all the way until 64. I remember this, because it's part of the name of my favorite early 1980s home computer system..
(I would say 'eight-bit system' or '8-bit computer', but that's not really accurate, because the WHOLE computer is never any 'bit', the 'bit' in question refers to the CPU register 'bandwidth', to explain it simply, and 8 bits equal to 256.. it's pretty technical, but I hate when people disregard the truth so they can say idiotic things like '8-bit music' - the computer in question has a synthesizer instead of a sound chip, and this synthesizer has 16-bit registers, unlike some other contemporary sound chips)
..so it's easy for me to remember.
When the Doc releases the switch, do the numbers go back to zero? No.
The numbers just keep climbing up, but the car has to still accelerate to 88, so .. what the hell are the numbers displaying?
It can't be SPEED, because the number goes all the way to 64 while the car is COMPLETELY STOPPED and not moving at all. No movement = 64.. units .. of.. something?
Yet Doc trusts this number to display speed anyway, although it doesn't display the acceleration accurately. How can he trust a meter that shows a NON-MOVING CAR as "64 miles per hour"??
So the whole 88 might ALSO not be accurate. If a non-moving car can make it display the number 64, why couldn't a car moving at 30 mph make it display 88? Tell me one good reason.
In any case, it should read 00 until it starts accelerating (how can the number even go up, wouldn't the tires just speed at a consistent rate instead of spinning faster and faster, and how does 'wheels spinning' give any kind of SPEED measurement, and how can they spin so fast it would be the equivalent of 64mph against the asphalt, considering the car's weight (increased greatly due to the time machine components)...and why is the acceleration so slow, if the tires can spin that fast, and wouldn't the tires be pretty much spent after so much spinning in place, and not have as good traction, and possibly blow out due to friction-generated heat and losing of the outer skin due to the 'burning of the rubber'?
This whole scene makes absolutely no sense, and for the life of me, I can't figure out what those numbers are supposed to represent. At best, it seems they measure some kind of 'estimated speed of a vehicle based on the spinning speed of the rear tires', but even that isn't completely right, as it doesn't go down to zero when the car starts moving.
To add to ALL this; think about the moment the car is already in motion, but the wheels are still spinning faster than the car moves.. agh, this is so hard to explain. I mean, if the wheels keep spinning constantly, it will take some time for the car to start matching the ... how the heck do I put this to words?
The wheels of a car usually spin to create motion, so the motion and the wheel-spinning rate normally match. But here, Doc deliberately creates an imbalance or inequilibrium between the two, so even when the car is already moving, the wheels are spinning faster than they would, if the car was just moving and accelerating normally.
Ok, so if the wheels spin at 64 mph, but the car moves at 20 mph, WHAT does the display or supposed speedometer on the R/C show?
Does the car do some kind of calculation and display the average speed between them, or or or..
Also, is that how speed should even be measured in a crucial experiment like that, just from the 'spinning rear wheels'? Shouldn't some kind of 'radar equipment' be used for better accuracy and to avoid the problem I am trying to explain in this post?
This whole R/C stuff makes NO SENSE.