mythbusters!

[Bambulus]

but the forces being applied to the box and the helicopter would be the same

No they wouldn't.

The helicopter wouldn't be susceptible to friction - which is really where the debate lies.

I personally think the helicopter would move in relation to the truck (ie: if the truck were to move forward, the helicopter would appear to move backwards within the container). As others rightly say, if a box can slide about in the back of a truck during transitional movement, then a helicopter (which has no friction to help it along) would move about more.

 

[Bon]

No they wouldn't.

The helicopter wouldn't be susceptible to friction - which is really where the debate lies.

I personally think the helicopter would move in relation to the truck (ie: if the truck were to move forward, the helicopter would appear to move backwards within the container). As others rightly say, if a box can slide about in the back of a truck during transitional movement, then a helicopter (which has no friction to help it along) would move about more.

But thats due to inertia, the helicopter wouldnt be effected by inertia

 

[Bambulus]

But thats due to inertia, the helicopter wouldnt be effected by inertia

Mind if I ask why? I have very little understanding of inertia, so I'm at a loss...

 

[Bon]

Inertia is the resistance an object give to changing movement. Think of it like a heavy trolly at the supermarket, you have to put a lot of effort into getting it moving, the trollys inertia is what is stopping it from just going immediately.

As the helicopter is hovering, and not on the floor of the lorry, whilst the lorry will have the inertia of the weight of the helicopters downforce, that wil not translate up the column of air to the helicopter itself.

 

[Talfryn]

Well, to be a smartass.. the lorry wouldn't initially weigh 10000kg, it would have a mass of 10000kg as weight and mass are different things. The mass of the lorry would remain at 10000kg and the mass of the copter at 5kg, when put togeather they would have a combined mass of 10005kg.

 

[M600]

the helicopters displacement would be zero as the truck moves, the air inside it wouldnt be enough to keep it accelerating at the same rate as the truck

 

[Missy-Q]

Inertia is the resistance an object give to changing movement. Think of it like a heavy trolly at the supermarket, you have to put a lot of effort into getting it moving, the trollys inertia is what is stopping it from just going immediately.

The trolley also has to overcome static friction. The chopper does not.

 

[john251282]

Yep it would need to be on a frictionless surface, closest easy to find things would be ice or oil on a perfectly smooth flat surface.