Weird scientific questions

[Espadon]

If you look at it that way we should have been thrown off a few minutes ago...

Oh, that was not a joke? Then I'm taking you with me. </sarcasm>

[Smegma]

http://youtube.com/watch?v=-EopVDgSPAk

The wheels on the plane are not MEANT to move the plane, they are designed as such.

Technically, his phrasing would indicate only speed. So, we dont know it is accelerating, but we all assume he meant to say it was and so was the belt.

He doesn't measure any kind of speed and you don't even see it lift because the kid is in the way. You can't use that as evidence either way.

I timed the results:

treadmill speed = speed 0 mph
total time to reach end ~ 1.50s seconds

treadmill speed =  4 mph
total time ~ 1.50s

treadmill speed = 10 mph
total time ~ 1.56s

If you don't believe me, go download a millisecond timer. Now, the final run he blocked the view so I tried to gage it by sound. That could account for the .06s (slight) difference in the time. But technically we would see a difference in the 4mph which we don't. This isn't a great way to proof, but he should have really timed the runs, but he didn't

Quoted again, I just wanted to add that I tried to find how long treadmill surfaces were. Anyway, for it to be going 10 mph, the running surface would have to be huge, and unless those people are giants, its not huge. I'm still a bit uncertain, but as a "freebody diagram" and such, I can see it. I think its all that it really should be assuming certain things which have been stated.

Still, it doesn't really matter.

[{LAW} Gamer_2k4]

Oh come now, just think about it logically. The earth is pretty much a gigantic treadmill. It turns at 15'/min and I've never once heard of a plane that got caught up by that and stuck on the ground.

That's because the earth is like the infinite train example from seven pages ago, in the sense that all of the air is moving with the earth.  Because of that, it can't be compared to the treadmill.

As taken fro the first post:

• Imagine an airplane standing on a gigantic treadmill. The plane is taking off, but the treadmill is moving in the opposite direction at the exact same speed. Would it still be able to lift off?

I bolded that part because it's very important.  The plane is taking off, as in it has it's engines already running at 300 m.p.h. airspeed (for the sake of using your example).  With the velocity the plane gets from the engines already going while the wheels spin away, it's still going the exact same speed as the treadmill.  Therefore it stays in place.  Because the plane stays in place, there is no air moving under the wing, and thus no lift.

But it wouldn't stay in place, and that's Kszchroink's whole point.  The motion of the plane is completely independent of the treadmill, even when the wheels are touching it.  The wheels ARE frictionless for all intents and purposes; that is, any friction generated around the axles (the only place where it would exists, besides the wheel surface of course) is negligible, at best.

This situation is unique because it is one of the few cases where the component touching the treadmill is not the component that's providing the thrust.  The engines are the only source of thrust, and they will continue to provide it unhindered by the treadmill.  The plane is not "keeping up" with the treadmill, because the treadmill is not negatively affecting its speed.

Since the plane never stays in place, as you indicated that it would, there is always air under the wings, providing lift.