Hmm….
frankNbeans
Came across this question in one of the forums I read and wanted to know what people thought.
A plane is standing on a runway that can move (some sort of band conveyer). The plane moves in one direction, while the conveyer moves in the opposite direction. This conveyer has a control system that tracks the plane speed and tunes the speed of the conveyer to be exactly the same (but in the opposite direction).
The question is: Will the plane take off or not? Will it be able to run up and take off?
I keep hearing arguments for both sides and it’s giving me a freakin headache. One argument is that because the plane isn’t actually moving, since the conveyer belt negates the forward motion, it won’t ever take off. The other argument is that even if the conveyer belt moves in the opposite direction, as long as the propulsion coming from the jet engines is strong enough, the plane will eventually lift off.
What do you guys think?
2.2 rating from 6 votes
2 Comments so far
The plane won’t take off.
Planes fly because of lift, which is caused by the movement of air around the wings. This movement of air around the wings is caused by thrust.
If you negate the forward movement of the plane, then there is no air flow around the wings, and no lift. No lift, no flying.
wut casper said…
the plane won’t take off because the plane is not moving relative to the air around it, therefore there is no lift created from the wings. the engine’s arn’t enough to propel a plane into the air.
good question tho