Easy physics problem

Originally posted by Doctor Rat
lol

What is the driver made out of?

Originally posted by ark13
All good answers.

It was supposed to be easy; maybe even deceptively easy. People tend to over-think this sort of thing.

Originally posted by lausey
Is the wall attached to the ground? 😕

Originally posted by ark13
Let's say you have a car (or an airplane) powered by a propeller. Your original design featured a large wall, attached to the car (or airplane), behind the propeller, which is hit by the air coming from the back of the propeller. Your friend says you should remove the wall, because it'll make the car (or airplane) go faster. You say it doesn't make a difference. Who's right? Explain your reasoning.

Treadmill or no treadmill? He's gonna need to know that too.


GAAAHHHHHH!

In my understanding as long as the wall is attached to the plane you will see no benefits of the force generated on it. In fact, its weight will require more energy to overcome. Its like swimming in a lake and instead of generating force on the medium through which you're travelling you take your hand and push against your body. Yes, force is being generated but you'll still sink like a stone. But hey, I'm no physicist.

Do we take into account viscous dampening?