MYTH BUSTERS IS GOING TO SEE IF A PLANE TAKES OF FROM A TREADMILL

Many Men wrote:

No, if the rocket propels the plane to 500mph and the treadmill instantly reacts to 500 mph, the plane will still move forward at 500mph, but the wheels would be spinning at 1000mph.

That's a good, simple explanation. But I'm still puzzled about the actual take off - the point at which the plane actually leaves the ground. Assuming you are correct about the forward movement, and I believe you are, won't the plane just run right off the treadmill and then take off at some point after that? Unless the treadmill was the length of several football fields?

At any rate, I'm pretty sure Jamie & Co. will botch this experiment the way they usually do. Their "experiments" are about as scientific as a 6th grade science fair.

Turn things around: The plane could be standing still in a windtunnel, then it would lift off. In other words: the wheels wouldn't make one rotation but the moving air would would create lift. i.e., treadmill won't work....

Yeah, the treadmill would have to be the size of the runway. It wouldn't be your standard 24 Hour Fitness one. :)

I think the Plain White Ts wrote a song about a plane on a conveyor belt.

the plane will NOT take-off...

what will happen, the treadmill will be turned on forcing the the wheels of the plane to counter rotate sending the plane crashing backwards...

way too many retards here thinking the plane will actually take off

The episode starts at 8 p.m. Central, not 9 like the original post said.

Plane's taking off, by the way. ;)

Didn't you guys see the youtube video where the kid makes the model airplane go on the treadmill? It would totally take off if the treadmill was longer.

The wheels do nothing. When the plane starts going, there is NO MOTOR OR FORCE pushing the wheels forward on the ground. The wheels are there just to reduce the friction 'cause if the plane was just laying flat on the ground it wouldn't work. The treadmill would have to move SO REDICULOUSLY FAST to create enough friction to slow down the plane's acceleration through the air that they would probably melt and burn.

What you really want to do is tie the plane to something huge way behind it, and see if the plane, while not moving in reference to the ground, could pull enough air over it's wings with the engines to make it lift off the ground, stationary. The wheels wouldn't even turn in this case. And I think it could take off. Assuming it was well enough and properly anchored.

o.k one more time... wrote:

the plane will NOT take-off...

what will happen, the treadmill will be turned on forcing the the wheels of the plane to counter rotate sending the plane crashing backwards...

way too many retards here thinking the plane will actually take off

I don't know why I'm perpetuating this argument...maybe it's because I'm bored. But.....

If you think the friction of the wheels is great enough to overcome the forward thrust of those engines, you are the "retard". Those wheels spin freely. They aren't like car wheels. As a previous poster stated: If the treadmill is running at X mph, and the plane is thrusting forward at the same rate of speed, the plane will not remain stationary like a car or a human being would. The plane will move forward at X mph and the wheels will spin at X*2 mph. I guess we'll see on wednesday, unless the guys from Mythbusters botch it.

The plane will definately take off and the wheels will spin twice as quick as normal, thats all. The people that are reading the explanations and still saying it won't take off are retards and probably totally failed maths and physics at school.

Treadmill=on ground

plane's jet engine in the air=AIR

wheels just spin and keep the plane balanced and stop it from gettin scratched on the ground.

Something on the ground wont effect the thrust that is getting created in the air. The only force that will be acting against the plane is the contact force on the wheels, which will be minimal because they are round(hence minimal friction) and drag, but the plane is aerodynamic, so minimal again.

Josh wrote:

REDICULOUSLY

Is this word the key to the riddle?

o.k one more time... wrote:way too many retards here thinking the plane will actually take off

comments like this will just make this mythbusters episode that much better.

I think it will take off. The prop will need to spin faster and faster to keep the plane on the moving treadmill. This prop will eventually create lift under the wings.

Just think if you are on an airport conveyor people mover that was going at 12mph. If you are also running at 12mph, don't you think you will feel air resistence, the same that you would feel running 12mph on the ground and mving foward?

There's your answer.

vroom wrote:

I think it will take off. The prop will need to spin faster and faster to keep the plane on the moving treadmill. This prop will eventually create lift under the wings.

Just think if you are on an airport conveyor people mover that was going at 12mph. If you are also running at 12mph, don't you think you will feel air resistence, the same that you would feel running 12mph on the ground and mving foward?

You got it wrong. It will take off, but the reason is completely different.

The REAL question is: if Teg runs at 13min 5km pace for 13 min while a incredibly long treadmill matches his speed in the same direction (13min/5k forward) has Teg run a 10k?

wejo, we should have a poll on the front page!!!

i say it's taking off.

Are we seriously talking about this again? Some assclown posted this thread about a month ago with the same thread name and mythbusters never aired such a show.

I agree, a poll is in order.

The only way I can see how people are disagreeing on this is in the wording of the question. Here, as I understand it, are the two wordings. The first one is from the "plane won't take off" camp, second is the "plane will take off".

Wording #1: "The treadmill matches the speed of the wheels in the opposite direction" So using this phrasing, wheels @ 0mph, treadmill @ 0mph. If the wheels start to spin at 1mph then the treadmill would have to move in the reverse direction 1mph. Obviously in this scenario the plane would NOT be moving forward, otherwise the wheels would be spinning @ 2mph, then the treadmill would have to match 2mph and the wheels would go to 4mph, etc etc etc until everything explodes.

Wording #2: "The treadmill watches the speed of the plane in the opposite direction" Again, plane @ 0mph forward, treadmill @ 0mph, wheels spinning @ 0mph. Plane accelerates to 1mph, treadmill moves 1mph the opposite direction, and wheels spin at @ 2mph.

Now, I believe, there is a problem with the physics in the first one. But I haven't taken physics since high school, so I'll leave that to others more qualified to explain it, though it seems pretty obvious to me. But that's the only way I can figure people think the plane won't take off.

breaks on.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHau5ySUT4M