Working Engineer wrote:
I am one of the people that agrees that the plane will take off, for obvious reasons. But, I do also believe that the treadmill is capable of holding the plane in place, in a very idealized envionment:
Since there is actually friction in the wheels it is theoretically possible for the force of the treadmill against the wheels to counteract the thrust of the engine. The problem is, the frictional coefficient in the wheels is extremely tiny. This would mean the speed of the treadmill would have to be extremely fast (hundreds of thousands of MPH, if not millions). The wheels would then have to spin along the treadmill at the same pace.
So, in conclusion, the treadmill could hold the plane in place IF:
1. The treadmill could spin hundreds of thousands of MPH.
2. The wheels of the plane could somehow bond to the treadmill and also spin at that same speed.
Since neither of these things could happen in real life, which is where the myth takes place, it is disproven.
Also, it would have to be a plane without any wings because a plane with wings would take off long before the treadmill hit thousands of MPH if the speed of the plane matched the speed of the treadmill.