Thrust Memes

The infamous treadmill plane problem - breaking friendships and ruining family dinners since 2005! Here's the deal: planes don't take off because their wheels spin faster. They take off because their engines push air backward, creating forward thrust. The wheels just roll along for the ride. It's like trying to stop Superman by making him run on a treadmill. Good luck with that! The conveyor belt would just make the wheels spin twice as fast while the plane's position relative to the air remains unchanged. So yes, the plane absolutely would take off. The bottom image showing an airplane taking off from a moving truck is actually demonstrating this exact principle. The poor Star Wars kid's reaction is what happens when you try explaining this at parties.

The infamous "plane on a treadmill" thought experiment has sparked more internet fights than pineapple on pizza! Here's the physics breakdown: planes don't push against the ground—they push against the air . The engines generate thrust through the air, not by spinning the wheels. So even if the treadmill perfectly cancels the wheel rotation, the plane would still move forward relative to the air and generate lift. The wheels would just spin twice as fast while the plane smugly takes off anyway. It's like trying to stop someone on roller skates by moving the floor—they're still gonna glide forward if they're pushing against something else. The middle image showing a plane taking off from a moving truck actually demonstrates this principle perfectly. Physics: 1, Intuition: 0.