Elevator Logic for Observant Jews

I found this in a blog and tried to contact this person to see where they got the info... found it interesting.

Jews are very creative in figuring out how to make it work and still follow the laws of Shabbat! --- well we are creative in many ways but this is an example.

Thanks to dabble-rouser for finding this info...

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may I introduce to you the Shabbos Elevator. Ready? Know how on Shabbat, holy Jews aren’t supposed to use cars, watch tv and all that other .... Well some places (it seems particularly predominate in hospitals, even the ones with statues of Mary all over the place) have these Shabbos Elevators that are programmed to open automatically and stop on every floor. Seems that it’s fine to ride the elevators, but unholy to push the buttons.
It's actually is even more complicated that what I just described. If you really want to fry your brain, read this Rabbi’s description of what makes a Shabbos Elevator a Shabbos Elevator:

“A Shabbat elevator is essentially an automatic elevator which operates according to a preset program, and is not influenced by the passenger(s) in any way. Such an elevator stops for a fixed predetermined time at each floor. A buzzer sounds to warn the passenger(s) not to interfere with the doors when they are about to close because it would influence the program.

Note, however, that not all automatic elevator systems are Shabbat elevators, per se. Because there are many Halachic issues surrounding the use of elevators on Shabbat, one should familiarize oneself with all of them before the particular elevator in question can be used.

One of the common misconceptions about how elevators work, is that they are moved by a powerful motor which works equally hard no matter how many passengers have boarded, or even if no passengers have boarded at all. If this were the case, then the added weight of the passenger is not a contributing factor in any of the functions of the elevator and he wouldn't be considered responsible for those violations of Shabbat caused by use of the elevator. This assumption though, is false.

The assumption is false because elevator motors do not use the same amount of power regardless of the number of passengers or weight. The following is an explanation of how the majority of elevators work, illustrating just a small number of Halachic issues surrounding the use of elevators on Shabbat:
1. Most elevators are the traction type: consisting of a car and a counterweight on opposite ends of a cable hanging from a pulley;
2. The pulley raises or lowers the car by using a motor, and stops by using a mechanical brake;
3. The motor only requires enough power to lift the difference between the counterweight and the car, and to overcome friction;
4. The weight is equal to half capacity of the car, thus the motor operates to counteract the pull of the weight when the elevator is less than half full, and does not operate when the elevator is more than half full, when the car is descending.

Since the weight of the passenger is partly responsible for the motion of the elevator, he becomes liable for any infractions caused by the elevator’s descent. In a typical non-Shabbos elevator, these are some of the many problems that one could encounter:

* Letting your weight trigger the mechanism that slows the elevator down and stops it at the next floor.
* Causing the light that indicates the floor that the elevator is presently on to illuminate.
* Activating the system (resistance sensitive pads, photoelectric device, or proximity detector) that opens the elevator doors."
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