Can a plane take off on a conveyor belt?

In summary: Equal but opposite reaction. Everytime someone necroposts, the original post is sent into the future by an equal amount of time.
  • #1
D H
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We will finally have an answer to this silly question on January 30, when the boys at MythBusters try to make a plane take off while on a moving conveyor belt. A preview: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSBFQOfas60".
 
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  • #2
Hmm...all those episodes of this show I saw last year must've been pretty old. Adam has a lot more hair on his head and is also fatter!

As for the plane-on-a-conveyor-belt, I bet it'll go around like the Mars Hoax, though it may not be a periodical phenomenon. But at last, we can point people to some experiments.
 
  • #4
How could anyone with half an idea about Newton's Laws EVER believe that the plane wouldn't take off? Just what force is there to stop the plane moving forward (except a tiny bit more friction in the wheel bearings).
It just shows what happens when you start to think intuitively and not analytically about Science. It's a bit like the Global Warming thing!
 
  • #6
edward said:
Cool link Cyrus. This is a must see for my grandson.

 
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  • #7
Too bad Newton didn't come up with the laws of necroposting...
 
  • #8
S_Happens said:
Too bad Newton didn't come up with the laws of necroposting...

Equal but opposite reaction. Everytime someone necroposts, the original post is sent into the future by an equal amount of time.

In other words, if, in Feb 2010, you necropost to a thread to you started in April 2003, your post of April 2003 was sent into the future - specifically to Feb 2010.

In this case, things get very convoluted as Borek shows in Feb 2010 that the Jan 2008 Mythbusters episode actually copied the Nov 2008 Top Gear in their episode about the jet engine thrust.

I knew that would happen.
 
  • #9
You forgot the necropost "reaction"...thread locked.
 

What is the "Plane on a Conveyor Belt" problem?

The "Plane on a Conveyor Belt" problem is a thought experiment that explores the concept of relative motion. It involves a hypothetical scenario where a plane is placed on a conveyor belt that is moving at the same speed and in the opposite direction as the plane's wheels.

Will the plane take off in this scenario?

Yes, the plane will take off in this scenario. Despite the conveyor belt moving at the same speed as the plane's wheels, it will not affect the plane's ability to take off. This is because the plane's engines are what generate the thrust needed for takeoff, not the wheels.

Why is this problem often debated?

This problem is often debated because it challenges our understanding of physics and our intuition about how objects move. Many people believe that the plane will not take off because the conveyor belt will prevent it from moving forward. However, this is not the case as the plane's engines are still able to generate enough thrust to overcome the conveyor belt's movement.

Does this problem have any real-life applications?

No, this problem does not have any real-life applications. It is simply a thought experiment that allows us to think critically about the concept of relative motion. In real-life scenarios, planes take off from stationary runways and do not encounter conveyor belts moving in the opposite direction.

What is the key takeaway from this problem?

The key takeaway from this problem is that the speed of an object is determined by its own motion, not the motion of the surface it is on. In other words, an object's movement is relative to its own frame of reference, not that of the surface it is on. This is a fundamental concept in physics and is important to understand when studying the motion of objects.

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