A simple question on Gravity, Earth and Airplanes

[adils3d]

Hello to everyone reading this post

 

I have a very simple question about gravity. We have seen planes flying at altitudes of around 35,000 ft. So if a plane takes of from Hongkong it will land in spain more quickly. And it will take more time if it travels form spain to hongkong.

This is bcoz of the rotation of the earth from east to west.

 

SO My question is if i happen to lift myself up in space by about say 2ft, will the earth pass by and say within a few hours spain will arrive automatically due to the rotation of the earth form east to west . And then i can land on the earth.

 

so why use planes in a east to west travel.....

or is there anything else.

[insane_alien]

SO My question is if i happen to lift myself up in space by about say 2ft, will the earth pass by and say within a few hours spain will arrive automatically due to the rotation of the earth form east to west . And then i can land on the earth.

 

no, this won't happen as the atmosphereis moving with the earth. if the atmosphere was stationary then you'd experience supersonic winds on the surface of the earth.

[Mr Skeptic]

Well there are several factors at play, mostly I think related to conservation of angular momentum. Something that is farther away from the center of rotation will spin slower than if it were nearer, for the same amount of angular momentum. Gaining altitude would have this effect. This effect applies to convection currents when air rises as well.

[Moontanman]

When you are in contact with the Earths surface you are traveling at the same speed as the earths surface. simply levitating above the earth does not negate that speed. So you would tend to travel with the Earths surface any way you look at it. I'm not sure what the speed difference between the surface of the earth and two feet higher is but I'm pretty sure it wouldn't put you half way around the planet as fast as an airplane would take you.

[Double K]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coriolis_effect

 

The Earth's rotation causes the surface to move fastest at the equator, and not at all at the poles. A bird flying away from the equator carries this faster motion with it—or, equivalently, the surface under the bird is rotating more slowly than it was—and the bird's flight curves eastward slightly. In general: objects moving away from the equator curve eastward; objects moving towards the equator curve westward. A particle traveling east would tend to follow straight on, lifting off in a plane perpendicular to the axis. The projection of that on the ground, to which the particle is bound by gravity and pressure, veers off towards the equator. Conversely, a particle moving west is overtaken by the ground speed and pursues its straight course bending down towards the axis, sliding off towards the pole.

 

Newton's laws of motion govern the motion of an object in an inertial frame of reference. When transforming Newton's laws to a rotating frame of reference, the Coriolis force appears, along with the centrifugal force. If the rotation speed of the frame is not constant, the Euler force will also appear. All three forces are proportional to the mass of the object. The Coriolis force is proportional to the speed of rotation and the centrifugal force is proportional to its square. The Coriolis force acts in a direction perpendicular to the rotation axis and to the velocity of the body in the rotating frame and is proportional to the object's speed in the rotating frame. The centrifugal force acts outwards in the radial direction and is proportional to the distance of the body from the axis of the rotating frame.

[swansont]

The basic concept at play here does not involve the Coriolis force.

[D H]

The basic concept at play here is conservation of momentum.

 

SO My question is if i happen to lift myself up in space by about say 2ft, will the earth pass by and say within a few hours spain will arrive automatically due to the rotation of the earth form east to west . And then i can land on the earth.

No.

 

Think of it this way. When you jump off the floor of a train speeding along at 60 miles per hour you don't suddenly go flying toward the back of the train at 60 miles per hour relative to the train. Similarly, when you jump off the ground at the equator you do not suddenly go flying toward the west at more than 1000 miles per hour relative to the earth. If that did happen, you would feel a 1000+ mph wind and during a two foot jump you would travel over 1000 feet (ignoring that 1000+ mph wind).

 

The reason this doesn't happen is conservation of momentum.

[PaulS1950]

It does happen to a small degree though, which is why ballistic computers for artillary have to include the rotation of the earth in their calculations.....

is this due to the longer time of flight?

[dalemiller]

 

 

This is bcoz of the rotation of the earth from east to west.

 

 

SO My question is if i happen to lift myself up in space by about say 2ft, will the earth pass by and say within a few hours spain will arrive automatically due to the rotation of the earth form east to west . And then i can land on the earth.

 

 

Lately, the earth has been rotating from west to east.

Edited August 1, 2010 by dalemiller