asperity Posted March 6, 2019 Report Share Posted March 6, 2019 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davy51 Posted March 6, 2019 Report Share Posted March 6, 2019 Now ,a serious question . What puzzles me is ,if the earth is spinning at x thousand mph why does it take the same length of time to fly east/west as west/east ? Should n't flights take longer if you are flying the same way as the earth is spinning & shorter if flying west to east ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asperity Posted March 6, 2019 Author Report Share Posted March 6, 2019 Because the atmosphere is, in general, moving at the same speed as the earth. There are anomalies such as the jet streams which mean, for example, over the North Atlantic if your plane is in the jetstream it will get you from North America to Europe faster than going the other way (so planes are routed to take advantage of jet streams going one way and to avoid them going the other way). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evil Sid Posted March 6, 2019 Report Share Posted March 6, 2019 so what if you are travelling from north to south in a straight line to the equator. how far out from your target destination would you be? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davy51 Posted March 6, 2019 Report Share Posted March 6, 2019 Thanks Asp ,i will digest that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asperity Posted March 6, 2019 Author Report Share Posted March 6, 2019 1 hour ago, Evil Sid said: so what if you are travelling from north to south in a straight line to the equator. how far out from your target destination would you be? If you're flyin in a straight line, i.e. flying due south by compass, it will depend on the prevailing winds how far you miss your target destination. If you're using navigation instruments (GPS and/or Loran) to ensure that your course made good is due south, then you should arrive at your target destination. The same would be true for a ship as long as there's no land in the way, and a ship is affected by sea currents as well as by the wind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evil Sid Posted March 7, 2019 Report Share Posted March 7, 2019 Bit of a trick question really asp, if you are travelling to the equator it does not matter how fast the earth is turning** or what winds are having an effect you will still reach the equator at some point on the earth's circumference.🤔 ** well unless it was turning about 18 times faster than it is at the present in which case escape velocity would be exceeded and we would in effect be thrown of the surface.( roughly one revolution every 84 and a bit minutes)🤢 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asperity Posted March 7, 2019 Author Report Share Posted March 7, 2019 Well you did say "target destination" Sid, implying a certain spot on the earth's surface rather than some random part of a circle. If only real navigation was allowed to be so hit or miss I could have saved myself hours of work with sextant, almanac and nautical tables 😂😂 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evil Sid Posted March 7, 2019 Report Share Posted March 7, 2019 But if the "target destination" is the equator then any part of it reached is classed as a success. (an explanation of a successful experiment taught to me by scientist when talking about test results. "any result is a success, even a negative result")🤓 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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