so my professor had a question on the test this week that i had a lot of trouble with and i wanted to make sure i was right.

here is the question:

"A plane is standing on a runway that can move (like a giant conveyor belt). This conveyor has a control system that tracks the plane's speed and tunes the speed of the conveyor to be exactly the same (but in the opposite direction).

Will the plane be able to take off?"

4/11/2009 11:42:53 PM

fuck you

4/11/2009 11:43:41 PM

CC != SH #2

4/11/2009 11:43:44 PM

shit is too serious

4/11/2009 11:43:47 PM

ibtl

4/11/2009 11:43:59 PM

yes!

4/11/2009 11:44:14 PM

mythbusters says yes btw, i remember watching this one in high school

4/11/2009 11:44:46 PM

thisisajkelosthegame

4/11/2009 11:45:06 PM

4/11/2009 11:45:10 PM

how can it take off? do you not know how airplanes get lift? they need their wings

4/11/2009 11:45:20 PM

^that's a myth

4/11/2009 11:46:06 PM

lol

4/11/2009 11:46:42 PM

4/11/2009 11:47:03 PM

uh, no they need the air bouncing off the wing to push them up
F=MA

4/11/2009 11:47:04 PM

4/11/2009 11:48:27 PM

a tree falls down in a forest when no one is around, does miley's vagina still taste amazing?

4/11/2009 11:48:50 PM

whoops, i thought this was study hall

i didn't understand the pictures


anyways, PLEASEE HELP

4/11/2009 11:53:46 PM

the airplane will explode with STUPIDITY

4/12/2009 12:20:30 AM

A MIGHTY WIND

4/12/2009 12:59:42 AM

The implicit assumption is that if the conveyor belt's speed backward exactly counteracts the airplane's "speed" (whatever that means) forward, the plane remains stationary relative to the earth and, more importantly, to the air. (We assume the winds are calm.) With no wind moving past its wings, the plane generates no lift and can't take off.

4/12/2009 1:09:22 AM

ok cool, thats what i said

if the belt is going in the opposite direction the plane can't fly

4/12/2009 1:11:23 AM

[Edited on April 12, 2009 at 1:18 AM. Reason : ]

4/12/2009 1:15:25 AM

lemme get my fagnifying glass

I'm Big Business and i approved this message.

4/12/2009 1:16:20 AM

are you for super serialz?

4/12/2009 2:26:01 AM

IT'S LIKE A GODDAMN IQ TEST TO DETERMINE WHO DOESN'T KNOW JACK SHIT ABOUT THE MECHANICAL ASPECTS OF MODERN FLIGHT.

On the one hand it makes people who think too deeply about the subject feel like they're so smart so they immediately become defensive about the issue.

On the other hand, if you believe Occam's razor and know anything about how aircraft have always operated, their thrust isn't applied at the wheels and the wheels spin freely.

Just lock this shit. This is moar epic trolling that doesn't need to happen.

4/12/2009 2:34:16 AM

6546854321 pages

[Edited on April 12, 2009 at 4:55 AM. Reason : plane takes off]

4/12/2009 4:54:51 AM

The wheels are removed from the plane and placed beside the conveyor belt. The conveyor belt is coated with Astroglide. Skids are place on the airplane. The airplane takes off.

END OF THE FUCKING PROBLEM.

4/12/2009 5:19:50 AM

4/12/2009 5:24:46 AM

Quote :

"(b) Does the object continue to move after it comes to rest?"

IT'S A TRAP

4/12/2009 6:42:46 AM

^^ thanks for making me LOreallyL in my office

^ you mean, IT'S A TARP

4/12/2009 7:24:25 AM

Quote :

"(b) Does the object continue to move after it comes to rest?"

IT'S A TARP

4/12/2009 7:28:39 AM

4/12/2009 7:36:07 AM

didn't see that there wasn't any friction

[Edited on April 12, 2009 at 8:41 AM. Reason : s]

4/12/2009 8:40:15 AM

so i tried this with an rc car on my treadmill and it stayed in the same spot (SHOCKING, I KNOW)

i feel pretty comfortable about my answer now

4/12/2009 8:02:10 PM

http://www.thewolfweb.com/message_topic.aspx?topic=499574&page=1

http://www.thewolfweb.com/message_topic.aspx?topic=512090

4/12/2009 8:09:03 PM

haha someone must have had the same professor

whats the conclusion of those threads, agree or disagree

4/12/2009 8:10:36 PM

^ the planes will fly (are you sure you're not trolling?)

4/12/2009 8:11:20 PM

The answer is always to switch majors.

4/12/2009 8:11:51 PM

wait, what? how the hell, planes need wind pushing on the wings

4/12/2009 8:12:03 PM

The plane's engines "push" against the air, unlike a car, which has wheels that push against the ground. The fact that the plane has wheels is purely for convenience. See Sea Planes, Ice Planes.

4/12/2009 8:17:40 PM

yeah, but the treadmill prevents it from moving
the engines don't make wind for the wings

4/12/2009 8:38:16 PM

just read the linked threads

4/12/2009 8:39:12 PM

you are a fucking moron pooljobs

4/12/2009 8:44:17 PM

1. If the plane is moving, thus air is moving over & under the wings it will lift off
2. If the plane is not moving, thus no air is moving over & under the wings, it will not lift off.

The tires/engines have nothing to do with it.

When mythbusters did it, they had the plane moving and got it up enough speed to take off.

So, is the myth about a moving plane or a stationary plane?

4/12/2009 8:46:04 PM

thats tuff

4/12/2009 8:47:12 PM

Quote :

"This conveyor has a control system that tracks the plane's speed and tunes the speed of the conveyor to be exactly the same (but in the opposite direction). "

thus, speed equals zero and plane doesn't fly

i don't think some people understand how jet engines work, they push wind behind them not over the wing

4/12/2009 8:49:05 PM

any idiot should know that

4/12/2009 8:51:46 PM

you'd think

4/12/2009 8:52:12 PM

Just because there is a conveyor belt moving the same speed as the plane, doesn't mean it's opposing the plane's motion.

Think of a sea plane... the wheels on a normal plane are skating on the ground, just like the skids on a sea plane are skating on the water. The fact that the ground/water is moving is irrelevant.


I still think youre trolling though.

4/12/2009 8:53:14 PM

is pooljobs trolling, or should he drop out of college and be a pool boy for the rest of his life?

4/12/2009 8:54:35 PM