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[MartinR]

Found this on another forum.

Here is kind of a brain teaser...

A plane is standing on a runway that is made of a large conveyor belt. The plane fires up its engines, but as it moves forward, the conveyor belt senses the speed of the plane's wheels and moves at exactly the same speed in the opposite direction. Can the plane take off?

[CIVICUS]

No

[AMR79]

No

What if its a harrier jumpjet?

[mosizlak]

how does the conveyor belt sense the movement of the wheels??

The wheels are'nt driven on an aeroplane.

[fingery]

Yes.

Irrelevant what the wheels are doing as forward motion is provided by thrust from the engines and not the wheels.

[AMR79]

how does the conveyor belt sense the movement of the wheels??

The wheels are'nt driven on an aeroplane.

lol theres always one

[fingery]

No

What if its a harrier jumpjet?

Wheels wouldnt be moving

[alanb]

yes although its speed is zero relative to the conveyor belt its 200 mph relative to the ground

[CIVICUS]

surely the speed that the plane would be doing once the wheels left the ground , would cause the plane to be propelled forward at such a velocity that it would crash

[mosizlak]

Yes.

Irrelevant what the wheels are doing as forward motion is provided by thrust from the engines and not the wheels.

Yeah but the movement has to start somewhere and as the wheels turn this conveyor belt senses the movement of the wheels and exactly matches it??

[fingery]

Turned to poll

[eatthis]

Yes because the plane is driven by prop/jet not road wheels

[mosizlak]

Turned to poll

[alanb]

mind u the thrust forward is negated by the frictional force of the conveyor belt all the energy is likely to be transferred to heating the belt so .................. no

[Ali]

Assuming they meant the conveyor belt matches the plane's speed, then no as there would be no increase in air speed under the wing and no build up of pressure.

If the speed was measured from the wheels (which still rotate at a speed, regardless of whether driven) then the same would still happen.

[mosizlak]

mind u the thrust forward is negated by the frictional force of the conveyor belt all the energy is likely to be transferred to heating the belt so .................. no

making the belt expand??

Thing is whoever designed this airport runway belt (for whatever f**king reason) would have taken heat expansion into account and added in a tensioner.

[Ali]

mind u the thrust forward is negated by the frictional force of the conveyor belt all the energy is likely to be transferred to heating the belt so .................. no

making the belt expand??

Thing is whoever designed this airport runway belt (for whatever f**king reason) would have taken heat expansion into account and added in a tensioner.

Unless he was British and it was Friday afternoon....

[fingery]

Where's Bumblebee or GriegR when you need a pilot

[mosizlak]

mind u the thrust forward is negated by the frictional force of the conveyor belt all the energy is likely to be transferred to heating the belt so .................. no

making the belt expand??

Thing is whoever designed this airport runway belt (for whatever f**king reason) would have taken heat expansion into account and added in a tensioner.

Unless he was British and it was Friday afternoon....

fair comment on the Friday afternoon but the tensioner would have had the biggest most expertly wound spring on it. Lets not bash British engineering.

[Dyls]

I'm guessing no since the plane isn't moving through the air which creates the lifting force.