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Originally posted by Conundrum:
Quote:
Originally posted by PANissanX:
[b]If you fire a bullet at approx 27,000KMPH it will essentially go into orbit and never land.
Wouldn't that mean that you fired the bullet outward (UP) and not parrallel to the ground? Hence like a rocket.[/b]
No, the Earth is round, therefore, the ground will drop out from beloe the bullet in this scenario wink However, you need at least 40,300kph, or escape velocity, to do that.

I knew this would turn into a huge hooplah. [LOL] The correct answer is that the plane WILL infact be able to take off though. You people are all associating the plane's movement with the wheels, and not where it's true momentum is coming from. A plane doesn't get it's forward momentum from the wheels, it gets them from the thrust of the turbines.

If you look and read and UNDERSTAND what I wrote in a reply back on page 3 (and others also said the same thing a few posts later),
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Originally posted by Hawk:
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A thought experiment commonly cited in discussions of this question is to imagine you're standing on a health-club treadmill in rollerblades while holding a rope attached to the wall in front of you. The treadmill starts; simultaneously you begin to haul in the rope. Although you'll have to overcome some initial friction tugging you backward, in short order you'll be able to pull yourself forward easily.
Now, you on the rollerblades is the airplane, the treadmill is the conveyor belt, and you pulling the rope are the turbines. You will still move forward on the treadmill regardless of how fast the treadmill is going because of the external force moving you forward.
There are good examples of the exact scenario. Those that think the plane will not go anywhere, need to sit and think a bit harder and think about it with a more open mind about it laugh