Thread: Answer to the aeroplane problem on Facebook

IF the 'plane wont move then why is the "conveyor belt" so bloody big??

I still say the aeroplane WILL take off.

Cheers Rod

The definitive answer. It is a jump jet and the pilot is just waiting for clearance befofe angling the jets for vertices take off.

Originally Posted by 67hardtop

IF the 'plane wont move then why is the "conveyor belt" so bloody big??

I still say the aeroplane WILL take off.

Cheers Rod

The moment the jets provided thrust and the wheel tried to roll, the belt instantly matches it (1st impossibility)... this immediately goes into melt down as the PLC ramps to the belt to light speed (2nd impossibility).

The requirement is that the wheels stay in place to comply with the question preassumptions (3rd impossibility)

See? To meet the question criteria it can not happen.

Originally Posted by Tombie

The moment the jets provided thrust and the wheel tried to roll, the belt instantly matches it (1st impossibility)... this immediately goes into melt down as the PLC ramps to the belt to light speed (2nd impossibility).

The requirement is that the wheels stay in place to comply with the question preassumptions (3rd impossibility)

See? To meet the question criteria it can not happen.

There is nothing in the Question to suggest that the engines can be used !! .

Originally Posted by Fatso

There is nothing in the Question to suggest that the engines can be used !! .

You still can’t see it then... that’s ok

I can see it , but open ended questions are open too interpretation to suit .

The sensible versions of this question are intended to test people's understanding of some basic physics and the principles of flight.

Badly worded versions like the one at the start of this thread just encourage people to turn it into something that the original version never intended. It just becomes an argument about something unrelated to the way planes fly and take off.

If the question is worded sensibly so that the discussion is about flight, then the answer is that the plane will take off. Arguing about when the wheel bearings on the plane or in the conveyor belt will burst into flames or disintegrate is missing the point ot the original version of the question.

Better versions of the question ask something like, "A plane on a conveyor belt tries to take off. The conveyor belt attempts to stop it by matching the plane's speed in reverse. Will the plane take off?"

Thank you for that ! - Was about to make references to the Book of Proverbs... which may have added fuel to the fire .

Better versions of the question ask something like, "A plane on a conveyor belt tries to take off. The conveyor belt attempts to stop it by matching the plane's speed in reverse. Will the plane take off?"

Near enough to the "original" and Sensible, version I first came across last Century. Same answer, then as now.

- Yes.


Edit:- but landing on melted wheel bearings promises to be...'Spectacular'