prodigy
December 25, 2006, 7:07pm
140
Rob man, the treadmill theory is correct, but only for humans. Since our legs are what move us forward or backward. The wheels of an airplane are completely on their own, and the plane doesnt move through the use of the wheels, they are simply there to ALLOW the plane to move forward and nothing else. Therefore, if the conveyer is moving at the same speed as the plane, it has no bearing on how fast the plane will go. If the conveyer is moving at 100km/h and the wheels are moving at 100km/h in the opposite direction, the plane will stand still because the wheels of the plane are free of the plane’s movement.
Get it?
Those guys you spoke may have alot of experience, but ask them to make a diagram of the situation and you’ll find they will all retract their statements.
I think you mean the plane won’t stay still, because the speed of the wheels is independent of the speed of the plane. It doesn’t matter how fast the conveyor belt, or the wheels move, because the plane is being thrust forward by the engines.