HAY /sci/, logic problem!

There is a giant, 10 mile long stetch of runway with a 747 on the middle of it. The runway, however, is specially designed to move, much in the same way that a treadmill will move, in the opposite direction of the plane. Secondly, the treadmill is attached to a computer which will match the acceleration of the plane exactly and constantly, in the opposite direction.

What is the result of this experiment? Does the plane ever take off?

this is >>2 again

i thought over it and decided it could take off, and that the reason is because the opposite movement of the treadmill will not have any effect on the overall movement of the plane, but will in fact only cause the wheels to spin faster (twice as fast).

kind of like that trick where you pull the table cloth out from under a bunch of glasses, as long as the wheel-ground friction was greater, it would be able to move forward relative to the atmosphere, even though the conveyor was matching its speed.  unlike a car, where the forward movement is generated BY the wheel-ground friction, a planes forward movement is generated by pushing against the air behind the jet.

ultimately, yes, the plane will take off, assuming the wheel-ground friction is greater than the wheel-against-the-plane friction.


also, the skateboard example is not very helpful, but has the right idea!