Salon's "Ask the Pilot" columnist, Patrick Smith, wrote a column about the popular plane-on-a-treadmill brain teaser I blogged last month. It neatly sums up the problem, pointing out the impossibility in the setup, and what would actually and theoretically happen if the experiment was carried out.
With the airplane and treadmill, there is, at the outset, friction force capable of rotating the tires at the proper speed to keep the plane stationary. However, as the thrust is increased, that force eventually maxes out. (Two separate frictions are at play here, actually, one between the tires and belt, the other between the plane's axles/bearings and its wheels. The first will max out before the second.)
"And at that point the wheels no longer roll, they slide," says Camp. "Or rather, they roll and slide at the same time. Tire motion is now decoupled from the belt motion. No matter how much you whiz up the treadmill, you won't add any more rotational velocity to the wheels because friction is already doing everything it is capable of. The plane skids toward takeoff — likely accompanied by much smoke and a powerful rubbery stink."
(Please don't email me about this problem. I've already read a gazillion opinions and don't want to think about it any longer — Mark)
Previously on Boing Boing:
• Shrimp on treadmill Link
