- #1
CyberShot
- 133
- 2
Not sure if I understand why the helium-filled balloon hovering in a closed train car, upon acceleration of the train, "will fly forward inside the train car till it hits the front, it won't touch the back of it at all." - quoted from klockan3
I believe the problem ignores wind effects.
I would've thought the back of the train would meet the balloon?
To see why, imagine instead, if the balloon were outside the train instead, different Z* coordinates but the same X,Y. Now if the train accelerated, the balloon would stay where it is (hovering above the ground instead of the train floor) and the back of the train would approach the balloon but not touch it (since both have different Z coordinates).
What is so special about the balloon being INSIDE the train that yields a different outcome as opposed to being OUTSIDE?
* Z-axis being the one created when an imaginary line perpendicularly strikes the plane of a train window on each side
I believe the problem ignores wind effects.
I would've thought the back of the train would meet the balloon?
To see why, imagine instead, if the balloon were outside the train instead, different Z* coordinates but the same X,Y. Now if the train accelerated, the balloon would stay where it is (hovering above the ground instead of the train floor) and the back of the train would approach the balloon but not touch it (since both have different Z coordinates).
What is so special about the balloon being INSIDE the train that yields a different outcome as opposed to being OUTSIDE?
* Z-axis being the one created when an imaginary line perpendicularly strikes the plane of a train window on each side