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Joined 11 months ago
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Cake day: August 13th, 2023

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  • Arrkk@lemmy.worldtoScience Memes@mander.xyzMythbusters
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    4 days ago

    The key insight is that the force a plane uses to move is independent of the ground, because planes push on the air, not the ground.

    Imagine you put a ball on a treadmill and turn it on, what happens? The ball starts to spin and move with the treadmill. Now take your hand and push the ball backwards against the motion of the treadmill, and the ball easily moves in that direction. The force your hand put on the ball is exactly what planes do, since they push on something other than the ground (the treadmill) they have no problem moving, no matter how fast the treadmill is moving.


  • Arrkk@lemmy.worldtoScience Memes@mander.xyzMythbusters
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    4 days ago

    Plane on a treadmill is really interesting because if you understand how planes work its so obvious what will happen you don’t need to test it. Planes move on the ground by running their engines, which push against the air, the wheels provide zero motive force. It’s also why planes need tugs to move away from the gate, you can’t run the engines in reverse. Planes are not cars, but people tend to assume the thing they don’t understand works like the thing they do understand, and refuse to believe their hasty assumption is wrong even when told directly their hasty assumption is wrong.

















  • It’s unfair to call them shitty, rock pigeons make nests on flat, stable surfaces, and are tended to by both parents in shifts, so all the nest needs to do is prevent the egg from rolling away when they get up. The nests are perfectly suited to purpose, it’s us humans who are imposing unfair beauty standards for what a nest “should” be.