Following up on the "Can I Blow You A Kiss" post from yesterday, a friend of mine who shall remain nameless (Iggy) wanted to blow me a kiss tonight. However, he was feeling some frustration at not having the lung capacity to get it here from his house in Pennsylvania. The concern was that the wind would blow it right back at him and never reach me.
In my infinite wisdom, I suggested he blow it East, and the kiss could circle the globe and eventually reach it's intended destination, me. But then I got to thinking harder about this, and that's where the physics came in.
If a kiss were blown East from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with Easterly winds blowing at an unknown speed, how long would it take that kiss to circle the globe and reach Chicago, Illinois? My friend (Iggy) suggested I duck in about two days time. That got me thinking even more.
Would it take two whole days, if it was going with the wind? Hmmm, I wonder if the rotation of the Earth would affect that answer? Imagine your right fist is the Earth, and your left fist is the Sun. One revolution of the Earth, your right fist, is one Earth day. The Sun rises in the East and sets in the West. If you turn your right fist to the right, that would validate the rising and setting position. Now imagine you are looking down on the North Pole as the earth is spinning, and you would see it spins in a counter-clockwise direction.
If a kiss were blown to the East, and the Earth spins in that direction, would the kiss travel faster than the Earth rotates? Or would it rotate at the same speed regardless of wind speed? If the kiss travels faster than the Earth, then theoretically I would receive the kiss in less than one days time. If the kiss travels the same speed as Earth, then I would still get it in less than one days time, probably about 22 hours.
See why I need a physics professor?
Or will it just hover there in a stationary orbit like a satellite? Stands to reason if it's only going as fast as the earth is spinning that it wont really get anywhere at all? I suspect it may just be easier to place a kiss in an envelope and simply let the post office take care of it.
ReplyDeleteouch!
*feels her brain fragment while thinking over this issue yet again and smells the smoke curling from her ears*
Now we know why I never took physics....
I should really stay away from these mind boggling blogs so early in the morning. LOL
ReplyDelete:)
ReplyDeleteI spend a few moments trying to figure this puzzler out - I thought of the tradewinds and the jetstream and ... I think LadyStyx's method would be the best.
The surface of the Earth where we are standing is moving, in rough round numbers, at about 700 mph (relative to Earth's axis). Everything "nailed" down (by gravity) is going just as fast, the air upbove up is, by and large, moving just as fast and is keeping up, and actually getting ahead of us slightly in the form of the west-to-east wind (having gained energy from the sun) The air currents "whirlpool" like the water doing down the toilet for the same reasons.
I think sending a hug via the internet works the best I can hope for...
Perhaps it would just be a lot simpler if you drew the kiss and then sent it via super-quick express mail?
ReplyDeleteAfter much consideration I've come to the conclution that...
ReplyDeleteIt'd be easier to send it via e-mail. ;)