An airplane flying either upwind, downwind, or crosswind can be used to understa

Question

An airplane flying either upwind, downwind, or crosswind can be used to understand the main principle of the Michelson-Morley experiment. A plane capable of flying at speed of 500 km/h with respect to the wind is flying in a wind of speed v. Suppose the plane flies upwind a distance L = 100 km and then returns downwind to its starting point, Find the time needed to make the round-trip and compare it with the time to fly crosswind a distance L and return. Compute the time difference between the two roundtrips if v = 50 km / h. Remember to keep at least three significant digits in the computation, to appreciate the time difference.

Explanation / Answer

L = 100 km, speed of plane u = 500 km/h, speed of wind v = 50 km/h

a) tup-down = L/(u - v) + L/(u + v) = 0.404 h

tcross = 2*L/(u2 + v2) = 0.398 h

b) difference = 0.404 - 0.398 = 0.006 h

Related Questions

Navigate

• Browse (All)
• Browse A
• Subjects

---

---

Integrity-first tutoring: explanations and feedback only — we do not complete graded work. Learn more.