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Original poster

Please help solve our stalemate

58 replies

HidingInTheCellar · 13/07/2010 11:47

Hi All,

Long time lurker with a vein hope you can help my situation.

My better half and I have been having a futile argument for the last few weeks and neither of us are shifting on our stand point.

Things have gotten so desperate that we have taken to such childish endeavours such as withholding sexual rights, hiding the toilet rolls and removing the fuses from all the electrical appliances in order to get the other to concede.

The argument is basically this;

If an aeroplane was using a conveyor belt as a runway and the conveyor was moving in the opposite direction to the planes direction of travel, would the plane take off?

I say it will but my partner says it won't.

Please please please please help. I'm dying for some nookie!

OP posts:
Flisspaps · 13/07/2010 11:50

Yes.

The conveyor belt would stop because of a piece of oversized luggage stuck somewhere, thus turning it into a normal runway.

tabouleh · 13/07/2010 11:50

Surely it would depnd on what speed the conveyor belt was going?

If the plane is travelling forwards at the same speed as the conveyor belt then it will stay in the same position?

However surely the accelaration on a plane takes it to a speed far in excess of a conveyor belt?

Strange argument!

tabouleh · 13/07/2010 11:51

In my first scenario I'm imagining the conveyor belt moving opposite to the plane's direction of travel.

spanxaremyonlyfriend · 13/07/2010 11:51

How fast is the conveyor belt moving?

Snorbs · 13/07/2010 11:52

Of course it would take off. An aeroplane's ability to fly is dependent on the speed of its wings through the air not on how quickly its wheels are rotating.

rubyrubyruby · 13/07/2010 11:52

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

NotQuiteCockney · 13/07/2010 11:53

Right, but if the conveyer belt is going in the opposite direction to the plane, the plane's speed relative to the wind would be nothing. So the plane would not take off.

PosieParker · 13/07/2010 11:55

No, the plane wouldn't take off. It's to do with the movement of wings and momentum, not to do with the wheels. The wheels merely assist the wings to move.

Snorbs...the wings wouldn't be moving.

smokeybacon · 13/07/2010 11:55

PMSL at flisspaps.

How has this argument escalated to the heights described?

EleanorHandbasket · 13/07/2010 11:55

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

wahwahwah · 13/07/2010 11:55

Yes it would. The engines are propelling it forward. If you were running on a conveyer belt, you'd still be exherting energy wouldn't you?

Odd argument,though

titchy · 13/07/2010 11:55

The plane will take off if it's speed relative to the air is sufficiently fast to enable it to take off. It will obviously have to move a damn sight faster if it's on a conveyor belt travelling in the opposite direction than if it was on a concrete runway.

Of course if the conveyor belt was travelling in the direction the plane wanted to take off then the plane's engines wouldn't need to work as hard to achieve the desired speed.

So the questin you ought to be arguing about is why doesn't BAA intriduce conveyor belt technology on its runways?

Does that help?

NotQuiteCockney · 13/07/2010 11:56

Hmm, it looks like when people tried it, the plane did take off. I'm dubious about an experiment settling this, because could the conveyer belt keep at the same speed as the plane?

But anyway, look here.

mayorquimby · 13/07/2010 11:56

No it wouldn't
your dh obviously posts on f365 and I'm pretty sure mythbusters handled this.
Something to do with no wind drag/resistance if I remember correctly.

AppleAndBlackberry · 13/07/2010 11:57

No, the plane is not moving relative to the air so it wouldn't take off - the only part moving would be the wheels.

diamondsandtiaras · 13/07/2010 11:58

Surely it would only not take off if it was moving at the same speed as the conveyer belt? The minute it accelerated and was moving faster it would be able to take off I would have thought?

My dad would know........

rubyrubyruby · 13/07/2010 11:58

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Bestb411pm · 13/07/2010 11:58

You're a bad person . I've seen this argument go on for months in other forums!

FWIW yes the plane would take off. How do aircraft take off from naval ships otherwise. I presume the science is the same.

mayorquimby · 13/07/2010 12:00

"If you are in a falling lift and you can manage to leap into the air at the exact moment of impact, you would be completely unharmed right? Right?"

GET OUT RIGHT NOW.
I'm afraid your wind-up might influence more morons to believe this to be true and repeat it in my presence. Which in turn will compel me to murder and do time.
Do you really want that blood on your hands?

EleanorHandbasket · 13/07/2010 12:01

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

nobodyisasomebody · 13/07/2010 12:03

Eleanor

Unlikely

Snorbs · 13/07/2010 12:09

An aeroplane is pushed forward by the action of its engine(s) against the air around it. It's not pushed forward by the engine turning the wheels. It doesn't matter what the wheels are doing (well, it does a bit due to friction in the wheel bearings, but that's not the point here).

Another, similar question to the conveyor belt one is this:

You've got an aeroplane sitting on the runway. Sitting in front of the aeroplane is a huge fan. As the aeroplane's engine starts trying to push the aeroplane forwards, the fan speeds up to push the aeroplane back. Will the aeroplane take off?

nobodyisasomebody · 13/07/2010 12:16

some more

PosieParker · 13/07/2010 12:37

The aeroplanes on a ship are completely different and many can take off with no runway, they can just propel upwards.

bebemoohatessnot · 13/07/2010 12:38

Does S T W mean anything to you?