Flying West

2004-05-16T09:17:00Z

I boarded an airplane in Amsterdam that taxied down to the runway and faced into the wind. Large fans spun, sucking in air, compressing it, and exploding it out the back. Newton says this makes the airplane move forward.

This plane used to be pulled by friction to spin with the earth. Now we were trying desperately to stop spinning, and just stand still for a while. The stars and the sun slow their motion, but do not quite stop. The earth spins so quickly, even at 50°N, that the air that it drags with it pushes hard against our plane, and we can’t quite stop spinning.

This wind being dragged by the earth whips over and under our airfoils. This makes lower pressure on top of the wing than below the wing. Bernoulli says this is why airplanes fly. Newton says he is wrong. Turbulence falls off the edges of the wings and pushed down with such force that this giant metallic bird can hover 10 km above ground.

Of course Einstein and Newton say that velocities are relative, so my story actually makes no sense.

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