“Imagine a plane is sitting on a massive conveyor belt, as wide and as long as a runway. The conveyer belt is designed to exactly match the speed of the wheels, moving in the opposite direction. Can the plane take off? “
2007-10-26 12:14:35 · 5 answers · asked by tru_story 4 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Physics
Yes, it can take off, because the wheels aren't driving the plane.
As the plane moves forward due to the propellers pulling it through the air the wheels will roll freely. As the conveyor accelerates the wheels will spin faster but the plane doesn't react since the wheels are not mechanically connected to the plane.
2007-10-26 12:39:55 · answer #1 · answered by wildturkey1949 4 · 1⤊ 1⤋
I agree with wildturk... . Most of your answers act as if they think the wheels drive the plane forward in the way your car drives the car forward. Not so.
Normally the engine (prop or jet) pushes the plane forward on a runway. The wheels turn freely (assuming the pilot doesn't have the brakes set).
On your conveyor belt, the plane's engine(s) will move the plane forward and the wheels would start to turn as they do on solid ground, but then the belt does its trick and runs backwards. The wheels turn 2X times as fast as they normally would, but that doesn't affect the fact that the wings are moving through the air generating lift.
The conveyor running might actually help by dragging some air along with it, creating wind.
2007-10-26 20:32:17 · answer #2 · answered by sojsail 7 · 2⤊ 1⤋
Hmm.. I don't think so because the plane wouldn't actually be moving (forward force = backward force) - surely you need the movement & speed to allow the wings to cut through the air? It'd be like a plane taking off from a standstill..
Not that I'm an expert or anything!!
2007-10-26 19:24:26 · answer #3 · answered by Kinipela 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No. It is the air moving over the wings that generates lift, and on a treadmill, the plane would not be moving forward through the air.
2007-10-26 19:22:36 · answer #4 · answered by HyperDog 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No it can not take off because an air plane's wings need to interact with the air to create lift, the force that makes an air plane fly. It would have no thrust, forward momentum, to take off with, so if it did get off the ground, it would stall and crash.
2007-10-26 19:28:09 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋