Solve the Puzzling Mystery of the Speeding Plane

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around a personal anecdote involving the use of a car GPS on an airplane, which reported increasing speeds that appeared to exceed the speed of sound. Participants explore the implications of this observation and the potential for misunderstanding regarding the speed of sound in relation to the airplane's speed.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • One participant recounts their experience with a GPS on a plane, noting that it reported speeds exceeding 790 mph, which is above the speed of sound (767 mph).
  • Another participant suggests that the question posed might be unfair, indicating a possible misunderstanding among readers.
  • There is mention of the speed of sound being affected by temperature, which could complicate the interpretation of the GPS data.
  • A participant proposes that the phrasing of the question could be improved for clarity, specifically regarding the terminology used about breaking the sound barrier.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing views on the fairness of the question and the interpretation of the GPS data. There is no consensus on how to best frame the question or the implications of the reported speeds.

Contextual Notes

Some participants note that the speed of sound varies with temperature, which may affect the understanding of the situation. There are also indications that the question may have been perceived as a trick, leading to confusion among some readers.

Algr
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I was debating putting this up in General Physics, but since I already know the answer, I thought I'd put it here. I also put this in some other places to see how different forums would react - my own little experiment.
===========

A true story:
I once took a car GPS with me on an airplane.

It worked! It was fun watching the little box frantically recalculating routes and travel times while the plane happily ignored roads and obstacles. (I turned that part off after a while.) But near the end of the trip, something strange happened.

I started using the GPS about 20 minutes into the flight, and at first, it told me that the plane was moving at about 550 mph. As time passed, the plane's speed slowly and steadily increased - through 600, 700, and as the plane started descending, it reached it's peak of about 790 mph. The speed of sound is just 767 mph, and this ordinary commuter passenger plane was exceeding it! At first I thought that the GPS must be wrong, but then I realized it was quite accurate.

How this was possible? What was really going on?

BTW: The GPS was able to correctly state my altitude. (Or at least was giving me a number that seemed reasonable.)
Edit: Oops, I see there is a brain teasers section. Can this be moved?
 
Last edited:
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Here's my guess:

The airplane entered the jet stream such that it had a very significant tailwind. Its true airspeed, relative to the atmosphere, was nothing atypical. But its airspeed relative to the ground increased significantly due to the addition of the tailwind speed.
 
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Yup! Figures that this place would get it first.
 
Someone in another forum got rather angry with me about this. He is sure the question is totally unfair!
 
Algr said:
Someone in another forum got rather angry with me about this. He is sure the question is totally unfair!

He's probably a chemist :-p
 
The speed of sound is just 767 mph
To make it even worse, the speed is lower with lower temperatures ;).
 
So now I am taking flack in that other forum, with two people telling me it was a trick question. Could I have asked it better?
 
the other forum said:
The plane really was going 790 mph. The speed of sound is just 767 mph. Yet plane did not exceed the speed of sound. How is this possible?
I think you should have used 'the plane did not break the sound barrier' instead of 'plane did not exceed the speed of sound.' in the above clarification.

(Note: I can only see the google cache version of the thread from 3 days ago, as it requires a log-in to view the threads.)
 

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