Let’s say that an airplane is going at 1200mph, and you have a gun that supposedly fires bullets at 1200mph, there is another airplane tailgating you and you decide to shoot it from a window in the back of the airplane, is it true that the bullet will not hit the airplane but instead fall down vertically with no force ?
This is purely hypothetical
Edit : I remember getting this idea when I was in 8th grade, about when 2 forces have the same intensity and opposite directions they get nulled ? I don’t remember that very well lol
In: Physics
It is true that the bullet will fall vertically as the forces (speed of the plane and speed of the bullet) cancel each other since they are equal in opposite direction. At least it would be true for an immobile bystander (here is a video from Mythbusters demonstrating it: (https://youtu.be/BLuI118nhzc))
But the plane that is tailgating you is still moving at 1200mph and will hit the bullet with the same force as it would have if both planes were immobile (approximately I’m not sure or is exactly the same). It’s just that it’s the plane which is moving instead of the bullet.
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