Puzzle

Assuming there is sufficient friction between the plane and the conveyor belt and assuming the conveyor belt can pick up enough speed before the plane falls off the end, then eventually the plane will pass through the air with enough air passing over the wings to create uplift.

Of course, the uplift will reduce the friction between the plane and the conveyor belt and so whether the conveyor belt could be used to 'accelerate' the plane to a sufficient speed to actually 'take-off', is a tricky question.

My vote is that the conveyor belt would need to be modified in some way to be able to accelerate the plane without just relying on friction :D
 
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uknowist said:
myth busters thought otherwise:o
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OK, so the only conceivable way it could work is if the friction between the tread mill and the air caused the air to move at a sufficient rate to lift the aircraft....

re-edit... i guess it depends if you mean a aircraft being propelled along a conveyor belt... i always assumed it would be a plane stood still with the wheels spinning like nuts...

edit redux: actually.... if the engine is propelling the aircraft then it will totally take off, conveyor belt or not as the actual plane will move forward & the wheels will spin at twice their normal speed, it really just depends on how you interpret the question :D
 
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ok

1) why is the air moving with the conveyor belt?

2) why would the wheels on the plane which are just wheels on axles be able to affect what gives the plane lift?

The way a plane takes off is not the wheels moving at speed but airflow over the wings. As the wheels could be travelling as fast as is physically possible and the thing get nowhere. Same applies to a rolling road, cars can get up to 200 MPH but they are still on the same spot.
 
iraiguana said:
ok

1) why is the air moving with the conveyor belt?

2) why would the wheels on the plane which are just wheels on axles be able to affect what gives the plane lift?

The way a plane takes off is not the wheels moving at speed but airflow over the wings. As the wheels could be travelling as fast as is physically possible and the thing get nowhere. Same applies to a rolling road, cars can get up to 200 MPH but they are still on the same spot.
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the plane is being pulled forward by the propellors/jet engines
the conveyor belt moving backwards just makes the wheels spin faster, it wont hold the plane back at all (apart from the friction involved)

the plane wouldnt lift straight up, it would just take off normally, but it would probably fall off the end of the conveyor first
 
Another basic puzzle:

There're two train lines at your local train station, one goes east and the other goes west. Both lines have exactly 1 train leaving at the same time every hour throughout the day.

How come if you arrive at the station at any random time, that the probability of the Eastbound train arriving is 5 times that of the Westbound train?
 
the engines are not moving mate. the plan would be stationary as only the wheels are moving due to being in contact with the conveyor. There is no wind moving to make the turbines move so they could not push it along.
 
iraiguana said:
ok

1) why is the air moving with the conveyor belt?

2) why would the wheels on the plane which are just wheels on axles be able to affect what gives the plane lift?

The way a plane takes off is not the wheels moving at speed but airflow over the wings. As the wheels could be travelling as fast as is physically possible and the thing get nowhere. Same applies to a rolling road, cars can get up to 200 MPH but they are still on the same spot.
Click to expand...

I think it depends what the question is :)

I assumed the conveyor belt / plane reference referred to a 'parked' plane that is 'accelerated' by a conveyor belt. As the plane moves on the conveyor belt then the air passing over its wings would eventually create uplift, but this uplift would reduce the friction and hence mean that the conveyor belt was no longer propelling it through the air.

It sounds like you are referring to a different issue where the plane is motionless (with respect to the ground), with the wheels spinning on a conveyor belt to cancel out the motion of the conveyor belt.

In your case the plane won't take off.

It seems there is a third 'version' where the conveyor belt is moving in one direction, at the same speed as the plane is moving (with respect to the ground?) and in this case the plane will still take off, as it still has air passing over the wings.

I've not really looked into the other thread, so I might have it wrong, but that looks to be what its about....
 
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The initial argument with the plane was this:

Plane on belt. Belt travels at take off speed. Will it take off.

There is no mention of thrust from the engine, that is the BS which was mentioned in the listed thread.

The plane is not moving whilst on the tread mill which was the thing, but the speed of the conveyor was the take off speed. The trick was only the conveyor moved and the wheels not the rest of it!

End of the stupid conveyor.
 
thesubstitute said:
Another basic puzzle:

There're two train lines at your local train station, one goes east and the other goes west. Both lines have exactly 1 train leaving at the same time every hour throughout the day.

How come if you arrive at the station at any random time, that the probability of the Eastbound train arriving is 5 times that of the Westbound train?
Click to expand...

Any takers on this one?

Is the object puzzle something like liquid? Like a carton of milk?
 
THE PLANE IS NOT STATIONARY!!!!

The engines give it forward thrust no matter what it is on, or what its wheels are doing!! The plane still moves forwards and still reaches take off speeds, the only difference is that its wheels are spinning at the speed the plane is moving PLUS the speed the conveyor belt is moving.
 
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