This is something that has been going around for ages, but I stumbled upon it only recently, and it has been baking my brain as I pore over it.
I present to you, this interesting physics puzzle:
A plane is standing on a runway that can move (some sort of conveyer belt). The plane moves in one direction, while the conveyer moves in the opposite direction. This conveyer has a control system that tracks the plane speed and tunes the speed of the conveyer to be exactly the same (but in the opposite direction). Can the plane take off?
Interesting question... please assume the following:
1. The drag on the wheels caused by the friction of the opposite-moving conveyor belt-runway is negligible, perhaps creating as much as a soft-field departure.
2. The runway is long enough for a soft-field departure (let's even give it 5,000')
Will the plane depart?
:)
Blue Skies,
- Mike
