Question This is a question my cousin came up with... I am thinking about how to solve it...
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If a jet (size - 777-747, etc.- is your choice but let me know which one you choose and the Concord is excluded from this scenario) were to leave JFK while the sun is exactly half way on the western horizon, how fast would its speed have to be to get to LA, keeping the sun in the exact position, and the second part is: how long would it take? I know rotational speed of the earth factors into it but beyond that.......
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I know that the earth is 37,500 miles in circumference approximately, and that an average jet flies at about 550-MilesPerHour. I calculated that the rotational velocity of the earth would be about 1,562.5 MilesPerHour at 37,500miles devided by 24hours.
To maintain the Sun at the horizon during flight, you would have to fly counterclockwise to earths rotation at 1,562.5 miles per hour, I am assuming, (I hope this is correct), roughly the speed of the former concorde. Is this right?...
..If not, can you please explain, to help understand where I went wrong?
Answer What you've calculated sounds reasonable, except the circumference of the Earth is about 25,000 miles at the equator.... so you are off in your calcs by a factor of 1.5 this is all assuming you are at the equator... it would be much easier to do at higher latitudes (it would require much less speed)...
