if it lands, why doesnt it land in another point from where it was hovering, because of the rotation of the earth?
2007-01-16 05:22:50 · 9 answers · asked by lallous_metal 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Physics
Because the helicopter as well as the earth and air are moving together. even you while reading this answer you are moving, is the same principal as jumping why don't you land in a different spot? I hope this helped.
2007-01-16 05:31:55 · answer #1 · answered by woodtigerdp 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
This question is similar to the one posed by my High School Physics teacher. Imagine a train travelling along the tracks. And inside a box car hangs a lantern from a string in the middle of the car. The string breaks and the lantern falls. Where does the lantern land and crash? It would seem that gravity would make the lantern fall straight down. Yes that's true. But the train was moving as well. that's inertia. So the lantern falls to the floor in the rear of the car b.c the train passed underneath it.
Why is this answer different from the helicopter? because the lantern was moving at the same speed as the train, and was FIXED to the train. When it became free, the train moved beneath it, and appeared that the lantern fell to the back of the car. Not so, the lantern fell straight down. So the helicopter is still FIXED *although by no such physical and visual means* to the earth, thereby rotating around it at the same speed as the earth. Imagine the space ship, it can be in outer space and stay in constant rotation with the earth, but that's only because it is forced to. If it were placed out there free from external forces, it would hover and the earth would simply rotate underneath it.
I know this is long, but I hope it helps.
2007-01-16 13:59:43 · answer #2 · answered by Sirputz 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Because the air is moving with the earth. Plus you must define stationary.
Sirputz is correct.
Even if you were on a planet with no atmoshpere, if your chopper rises above the ground, it is moving with the ground at whatever speed (1,000 mph at our equator) because of inertia. Just like jumping up doesn't cause you to suddenly go West at 1,000 mph.
2007-01-16 14:14:59 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
You don't have to be standing on the ground to be under the influence of Earth's gravity. Otherwise if you jumped in the air you'd never come back down. So even though the helicopter is "hovering", it's still being pulled along by Earth's gravity in the same way the people on the ground are.
2007-01-16 13:32:08 · answer #4 · answered by J C 2 · 0⤊ 2⤋
Because the chopper is already traveling
with the earth's speed of rotation.
2007-01-16 13:34:06 · answer #5 · answered by PokerChip 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Hi,
Well the point is that, earth is attracting the chopper perpendicular.In other hand, this kind force (gravitation) does not need matter. In other words, you should not be connected to the earth directly, you just can be simply on the moon and still earth has its affection on you. (so that doesn't matter ether you are on earth or in the earth atmosphere )
2007-01-16 13:41:54 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
The velocity at the earths surface just due to rotation is over 1,000 mph. Thus for the helecopter to be stationary with respect to the earth, it would have to be going over 1,000 mph, which is not stationary.
2007-01-16 16:26:46 · answer #7 · answered by daedgewood 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Newton's First Law of Motion: Every object in a state of uniform motion tends to remain in that state of motion unless an external force is applied to it.
It has nothing to do with gravity.
2007-01-16 13:45:01 · answer #8 · answered by gebobs 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
where's waldo?
2007-01-16 13:33:30 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋