Quote:
Originally Posted by Hack&Lube
"The myth is that a plane on a conveyor belt will be able to take off"
-What do you think when you first read that line? When you imagine a plane on a conveyer belt you imagine a man running on a treadmill. He doesn't move forward, he stays in a stationary position. The spirit of a myth is the first thing you imagine about and form a concept of a plausible reality out of something absurd when you first think about it.
What they did is totally not the original spirit of the myth as I still contend. Of course it's a no-brainer that the plane's overwhelming thrust will allow it to take-off in such a situation. Of course it's also a no-brainer that the plane will not take off if it remains stationary due to the conveyer belt moving many times faster than the plane, negating forward thrust (and melting off the wheels) since there will be no lift generated. So I guess this myth is more about method of execution rather than any actual real concept or genuine rational thought which is totally stupid.
They might as well put the plane in a windtunnel where the windspeed matched the forward thrust of the plane and see if it disintegrates.
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See, that's the problem: the myth is designed as a thought expiriment meant specifically to trick people into confusing 'the spirit' of the myth with what will actually happen. You can do all this physics and math, but it's really a philosophical question that comes down to one self-evident statement: A plane moving 25 mph on a conveyor belt moving 25 mph in the opposite direction will not stay in the same place. (It will move forward relative to the air around it at 25 mph and move forward relative to the conveyor belt at 50 mph).