maemo.org - Talk - View Single Post - Jolla Tablet Refunds (latest developments)

billranton	2015-12-08 , 08:07
Posts: 307 \| Thanked: 1,460 times \| Joined on May 2011 @ Switzerland	#2542

Originally Posted by Ken-Young

Not really. A jet engine is a "reaction engine". It propels the aircraft forward by expelling mass, which must result in a forward force on the aircraft, via Newton's third law. It would work just as well in space, if it carried an oxidizer along with the fuel (which would make it a rocket engine).

A jet isn't a rocket. A large part of the mass it expels is drawn in the front, making it similar to a propeller, but with some rocket-like qualities. It's not relevant to the treadmill though - the point is that the plane is not propelled through traction against the treadmill. The only effect the treadmill has on the plane is increased friction. It spins the wheels.