Gravity - brain teaser

 

Ok guys, either guys in my office are very thick or very smart.

 

Let me ask you this. If you were flying from London(UK) to a location directly on the opposite side of the earth, say Sydney(AUS) for example. Would you get there quicker if you flew east or west around the world, or would it take the same amount of time.

 

I need your reasons explained as well.

I'm not allowed at this point to give my reasons as I don't want to influence anyone else's. But I will give my explanation after I've heard from you guys.

All depends if the plane is auto or manual;)

Dunno about flying to Australia but everytime I fly from Greece to England it takes less time than England to Greece. :)

if there is any difference then i reckon that flying west would be fastest because is is the opposite direction to the one the world spins in.

 

i.e.

 

world is going ---------->

you are going ---------->

 

the rate at which you are moving in relation to a point on the earth's surface is equal to your speed - the speed of the earth's rotation

 

if

 

world is going ---------->

you are going

 

the rate at which you are moving in relation to a point on the earth's surface is equal to your speed + the speed of the earth's rotation

 

the higher you fly, the more of a difference it would make.

 

i'm probably wrong but who cares?

Originally posted by XTT

Dunno about flying to Australia but everytime I fly from Greece to England it takes less time than England to Greece. :)

 

Thats because It's downhill;)

Define time - from who's perspective ?

 

This can be a very easy, or a very complicated question !

If you look down on the earth from above, it is rotating anticlockwise. Towards the east. So if you are flying in that direction (eastwards) it will take you longer to catch up with the point on the earth you are chasing.

 

If you fly toward the west, the point you are heading for is rotating toward you so that'll be quicker.

 

Now this doesn't take into account the jetstream.....

 

OK why did you want to know?

 

Gio

 

(PS in otherwords what ste said :D )

Ok If you fly West it will take less time than if you fly East am I right?

In the Mediaeval ages, you could get to Australia as quickly as swiping a loaf of bread. :D The return journey was infinitely more tricky, though.... :D

MAC: yep. ;)

 

Ajay: Actually, the first convicts were not transported until Sunday 13 May 1787. And typically, it is agreed that "Mediaeval" stopped around 1500AD. http://historymedren.about.com/library/faq/blmedieval.htm#when

That'll teach her to spot the $0 list price hehehe

:D Gio

Those of you who say there is a difference.....

 

are you saying that flying a plane at 30,000 feet will be high enough to reduce the earths gradational pull enabling the flight time to decrease.

 

Ok, the moon is higher than 30,000 feet, but the tides are controlled by it's gravitational pull.

 

So are you sure it would be quicker travelling against the earths rotation ?.

If you ever sit on a plane that is travelling close to 500 mph, and you throw a piece of fruit in the air at 90 degrees (whilst the plane is not climbing or descending). Does the piece of fruit fall 90 degrees or less ?.

Originally posted by Gio

Ajay: Actually, the first convicts were not transported until Sunday 13 May 1787. And typically, it is agreed that "Mediaeval" stopped around 1500AD. http://historymedren.about.com/library/faq/blmedieval.htm#when

That'll teach her to spot the $0 list price hehehe

:D Gio

 

LOL... :D :D Nah, they were just held in abeyance for a couple of hundred years on Death Row until they decided to farm them out. ;) :D

 

"History, Re-written". ;)

surely it will be quicker west to east as this is general direction of winds, that is why baloons fly round that way.

 

flying at 25,000 feet will be slower, mainly because pilots slow speed down because more fuel is used at lower altitude, I think its to do with the air and fuel mixtures.

As you said there is the jetstream to consider and depends if you fly around the various currents I suppose.

 

How about magnetic effects? Minute but there no doubt.

 

Also depends on landing patterns at the airports :D You might have to circle round more from one direction ;)

 

What a load of bullocks :D

What type of plane are we in?

 

If I'm in Concorde and your in a Sopwith Camel then I can go anyway I want and still be faster........

So, I take it that none of you guys and girls actually know the answer to this one ?

Originally posted by smw1

are you saying that flying a plane at 30,000 feet will be high enough to reduce the earths gradational pull enabling the flight time to decrease.

 

Aah, I see what you mean. In this case, gravity has no effect. The force of gravity acts vertically i.e. attracting the plane downwards to the centre of the earth (and btw attracting the earth upwards to the plane but only by a teeny weeny amount). There is no rotational vector to gravity - it doesn't care whether the plane is flying west east north south.

 

So the key variable is which way is the land moving compared to the flight direction.

 

The land is moving to the east so flying east takes longer than flying west.

 

Cheers - Gio

Originally posted by Gio

 

The land is moving to the east so flying east takes longer than flying west.

 

Cheers - Gio

 

 

Thats what I said:rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

You're not actually throwing it vertically though are you. In relation to the (for the sake of argument, stationary) earth the fruit will follow a parabolic arc.

 

Originally posted by smw1

If you ever sit on a plane that is travelling close to 500 mph, and you throw a piece of fruit in the air at 90 degrees (whilst the plane is not climbing or descending). Does the piece of fruit fall 90 degrees or less ?.

....well I hope there's intelligent life up there somewhere, coz there's bugger all down here on Earth!:D

It makes no difference, whatever velocity you're travelling at, east or west, that velocity is relative to the (spinning) earth. Or to the point on the earth below you.

 

Same velocity/same distance = same time elapsed.

 

Pete

Originally posted by pete shrimp

Same velocity/same distance = same time elapsed.

Now I would totally agree with that... but I feel that this would be entirely true if you were travelling on land, but would the hypothesis still hold it's own if you travel above the earths surface ?. I think this is the point that others are arguing.

 

So who said ... the same amount of time to fly in either direction ?

and who says... quicker to fly anti clockwise ?

and who says (I doubt this one very much) quicker to fly clockwise ?

Didn't they used to do Concorde trips around the world where it was almost perpetual daylight? I think it went from East to West, accross the Atlantic, over the States etc.etc. From the song I quoted above....the Earth is rotating at c1000mph. Concorde goes faster than this, so it was always catching dawn at whatever point on the Earth it was over.

 

Then again I could have got it all arse about face.:confused:

 

I guess it's all relative, as we are all travelling at 1000mph too. Otherwise if you threw a ball to someone, depending on what direction you were facing it would either kill them or kill you (ball hitting you at 1000mph!) Same in an aeroplane, if you jumped up in the aisle you wouldn't go blasing out of the rear of the plane :eek:

 

So, the time travelled would be the same (speed/distance)

 

Now I've confused myself......again.:confused:

Who gives a F*CK!!:rolleyes: :D :D

Stu just for you;)

 

 

 

 

 

It is the equator that pulls the world's air mass around the world, in the same direction as the world turns on its axis in its orbit around the Sun. All the world's air mass comes from the West and flows East, as the linear movement at the equator is far greater than the linear movement towards the South and North Poles, therefore pulling the air mass past these latter regions faster in the same direction. So now you all know;)

Originally posted by x-biker

So, the time travelled would be the same (speed/distance)

Now that IMO is spot on.

This was my original discussion with the guys in the office.

 

Tony,

Nice to see you join in this intellectual conversation LOL :D.

 

Macca,

So now if you add that to the equation... what do you get apart from one he|| of a jet stream if you are flying on the equator :D.