If a helicopter travels straight up 1000 feet and hovers for 10 hours in the same spot without running out of gas and comes down in the same exact path it went up, will it land on the same landing spot or elsewhere due to the earth's rotation?
2006-08-11 06:06:29 · 9 answers · asked by hoov45 2 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Other - Science
It hovers on the same spot... compared to what? Does it stay over the same spot on the ground? Or does it stay on the same spot compared to the winds that the helicopter is surrounded by? Or do you mean that after going up 1000 ft, the pilot makes no aileron/rudder/elevator adjustments?
Obviously, if you mean that the helicopter hovers over the same spot on the ground, then it also comes down at the same spot. If it flies with the winds, it will most likely not come down at the same spot. And if the pilot just sits there, who knows what would happen - he probably wouldn't stay hovering at 1000 ft, anyway, because some adjustments always have to be made since the winds are always more or less turbulent.
The earth wouldn't turn below him, because the atmosphere turns with the earth.
2006-08-11 06:53:26 · answer #1 · answered by Barret 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you meant this as a trick question..."hovers for 10 hours in the same spot"...then yes, it will come down in the same spot.
Otherwise, if the helicopter doesn't make any adjustments or course corrections, then it will move with the wind while in the air and will come down in a different location. The earth's rotation will have some effect, but it'll be alot less than what the wind will impose.
2006-08-11 06:15:39 · answer #2 · answered by tbom_01 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The atmosphere moves along with the earth's rotation, however, it's very unlikely that the helicopter would not be effected by winds at 1,000 feet for ten hours, so his landing would most likely not be in the same spot.
2006-08-11 06:14:08 · answer #3 · answered by wildraft1 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Um yeah the helicopter will come down in a different spot. This is assuming that there are no other variables to affect its motion. As far as thinking that a ball thrown up into the air at 65 mph from a car and it landing back into the exact same spot your freakin crazy guy. True the ball is moving at 65 mph at first, it immediately begins to slow down.
2006-08-11 06:52:33 · answer #4 · answered by stowiestudd 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It will land in the same spot because while the copter is in the air, it is moving with the earth's rotation. This is analogous to when you are riding in a car, you throw a ball up in the air. When it comes back down, it is in the same spot, even though the car is moving at 65mph, the ball is in the same system, so it is also moving at that speed. Similarly, the helicopter is still in the same system as the earth, so it is moving in orbit at the same speed.
2006-08-11 06:15:44 · answer #5 · answered by The J Man 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It will land just a bit off of the original spot due to the Earth's rotation. You can calculate just how far from the orginal spot by using the rotational velocity of the Earth and mutiplying that by the time the helicopter was in the air.
d = (v)(t)
2006-08-11 06:15:21 · answer #6 · answered by physandchemteach 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
sure. that is purely like how a toy helicopter in a closed motor vehicle can hover interior the motor vehicle and stay over the comparable spot on the floor even on an identical time as the motor vehicle drives at 60 MPH. yet while it extremely is an open motor vehicle, the wind might blow it away. The Earth's floor is shifting at hundreds of miles in keeping with hour as Earth rotates, however the air rotates with it. If the air did no longer rotate alongside with the floor, there might continually be a wind of hundreds of miles in keeping with hour.
2016-11-04 09:08:27 · answer #7 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You might find the answer you're looking for here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foucault_pendulum
Obviously a real helicopter will come down where the pilot sets it down.
2006-08-11 08:43:39 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
OMG!!! MY BRAIN CAN'T HANDLE THAT!!!
THANKS, NOW MY HEAD HURTS....
2006-08-11 06:17:12 · answer #9 · answered by RockergurlSoS! 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋