The airplane-treadmill conundrum
“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?
“I say no, because the plane will not move relative the the ground and
air, and thus, very little air will flow over the wings. However, other
people are convinced that since the wheels of a plane are free
spinning, and not powered by the engines, and the engines provide
thrust against the air, that somehow that makes a difference and air
will flow over the wing.”
The plane will take off. It's a badly worded question. Why?
This article is something that only happens in bad novels, or so I thought. Somebody finds an acetate of the first studio sessions of the Velvet Underground, that was never released, and bought it in a yard sale in Chelsea for a quarter.
Goldmine - The Collector's Record and Compact Disc MarketplaceCory Doctorow says I should read this. I always listen to Cory.
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