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Unread 16-12-2005, 02:03
sciguy125 sciguy125 is offline
Electrical Engineer
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Re: Can the Plane Take-Off?

Quote:
Originally Posted by 340x4xLife
So the engine thrust is causing motion(MPH) So if the runway can match the MPH of the plane, no matter what air the engines are pushing against, the planes "movement" is still in MPH and that can be matched by this runway so the runway would cancel the thrust by the engine and the plane would remain still.
What you're missing is that thrust is a force, not a velocity. Go back to Newton's 2nd Law: F=ma. Velocity is the result of a force acting on a mass. Actually, I think that if thrust was a velocity, it still wouldn't matter.

Let's assume an ideal case: infinite traction between the wheels and the tredmill, 0 friction between the wheels and the axles (through the bearings). In this situation, how does the tredmill stop the plane from moving?

Now let's assume a practical case: some finite but large amount of traction, some very small but non-zero friction in the bearings. What effect does this have on the plane's movement?
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