So, will it take off?Follow

The conveyor belt is irrelevant. The plane will take off.

When the plane's engines generate thrust, they push against the air. Thus the plane will begin to move forward. The converyor belt will then begin to turn in the opposite direction. The conveyor belt will cause the planes wheels to spin, but that has no effect on the motion of the plane, because the plane is moving forward by pushing against the conveyor, it is moving forward by pushing against the air.

The engines will continue to build thrust, the plane will continue to move forward, and the conveyor will spin faster and faster in the opposite direction. But again, other than spinning the planes wheels faster and faster, it will have no effect on the plane.

The plane moves forward because it pushes against the air. The motion of the conveyor belt is meaningless.

Edit: To clarify, the motion of the conveyor does not push the plane backwards, it just spins the planes wheels.

Edited, Jul 20th 2006 at 5:43pm EDT by Deathwysh

Special feed lines from a compressed air tank. That's the ticket!

After reading the lame Cecil Adams explanation, I suppose that given a plane with props over each wing it could theoretically drive enough air over the flying surface to generate lift, but such an aircraft design presently does not exist. Moreover, if it has jet engines mounted on the tail or under the wing the blast would miss the lifting surfaces entirely.

What is missing in Adam's answer is that a plane requires a low pressure on top of the wing and a high pressure under the wing in order for it to fly. Regardless how such dissimilar pressures are acquired, once they are attained lift is created. Engines are simply the means to make the lift that is necessary to fly, but don't actually cause the wing to produce lift.

Totem

Why is there still discussion on this subject? The answer is no, and nuts to you if you don't understand it. It's not like any of you ******* will be flying high-propulsion jets on conveyor belts any time ever.

Heheh... someone on the SD boards already asked why they don't just put conveyor belts on an aircraft carrier

Edited, Jul 21st 2006 at 12:33am EDT by Jophiel

omg.... realitivity darlings..... ok did you know that RIGHT NOW in your seats, reading this post, while you should be getting those TPS reports, that your are moving at a phenominal rate?

its true... relative to one point or another in the universe. even if you solely look at our solar system that is easily monitered by modern science, you are rotating right now with the earth, as well as spinning around the sun... dont get me started on your relitive rate compared to jupiter or a random asteroid...

but i digress, the basic point is YOU ARE MOVING RIGHT NOW.

now get this, even though the conveyer is moving, that doesnt mean the plane has to move with it. the Wheels have little friction to the conveyer, so try as it may, that conveyer will NOT move the plane (unless the plane itself is not exerting any force... but ill TRY to stick with the basics.)

whats moving that plane forward is the thrust of the engines on the wings that are in no way in contact with that conveyer... the plane still moves forward (im assuming most of you where picturing a plane that stayed stationary and started magicly floating)

ok, i hope some of you got that... but probably not... thats why ill never be a physics teacher. could you see me flipping out on a kid that had a wrong answer, and in the process make no sense? yea, thats me.

And they let you fly?

The question specifically states that the conveyor will go in the opposite direction of the plane at the exact same speed as the plane. It does not negate the planes speed. It merely spins the planes tires.

For instance when the plane reaches ten mph forward (relative to the groun), the conveyor will be spinning ten mph in reverse. That will not counter the planes forward motion relative to the ground, the plane will continue to move forward, but with the conveyor now spinning the wheels of the plane at 20mph.

The wheels may generate a bit of drag, but not nearly enough to slow the plane enough to prevent it from taking off. So assuming the conveyor is long enough, the plane will take off. The thrust that the plane generates, regardless of whether it has a jet engine, propellers, or the hand of god reaching down and giving it a mighty push will move the plane forward. The conveyor will simply turn in the opposite direction at the planes own speed. The wheels of the plane will be spinning at twice their normal rpm's when the plane takes off.

Yes, we can assume the plane has a normal airfoil for a wing which will require air flowing over it in order to generate lift. The thrust being generated, regardless of its source, is being generated between the plane and the air that surrounds it, it is not propelling the plane forward by pushing against the conveyor. Nor is the conveyor programmed to neutralize the planes forward motion; its just supposed to match the planes speed in the opposite direction.

Edited, Jul 21st 2006 at 4:19pm EDT by Deathwysh

Yes it would. with the planes engines off, the conveyor accelerates the plane forward. The drag of the plane might push it backwards a little (relative to the conveyor), so that the wheels would actually be spinning in the wrong direction when the plane took off. On the other hand if you lock the parking brakes on the planes wheels, they won't spin at all and the plane will take off.

But in the both of the above scenarios, the plane would crash back down to the conveyor almost immediately (since the engines are off).

So long as the acceleration remained consistant with that of the wheels on that vector.

Ever seen a grown man naked?

As in "Gladiator before the Gangbang"?