think about this...

[LAGmaniac]

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However, the OP never states that the system is frictionless so theoretically, as the converyor belt speed approaches infinity, the friction of the wheels is no longer insignicant and can actually cancel out the finite amount of thrust from an airplane engine.

[/ QUOTE ] Pretty sure we will have had lift off by then [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]


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But imagine that that there is friction in the system, as in real life. The conveyor belt starts moving backward and the pilot creeps in the engines just enough to keep the plane staionary. The conveyor belt keeps speeding up and the pilot occasionally nudges in the throttle a tad to hold position. If the conveyor belt could continue speeding up like this until it approached infinity, wouldn't the friction in the system from the wheels eventually become so great as to counter full forward thrust by the engines?