<p>"An infinitely long runway (thin slab of concrete) rests on a frictionless sheet of ice. An airplane whose rubber wheels are mounted on frictionless ball bearings is on the runway and the engines are turned on at full power. Does the airplane take off?</p>
<p>(This removes the business about having to describe how the runway moves. While it does turn out in the end that the runway moves backward at the rate the airplane is moving forward, that does not need to be stated as a condition of the problem.)"</p>
<p>No. Are you familiar with Newtonian physics or force diagrams? The runway will move forward (or not at all). Where does the force come from that could move it backward?? Friction with the air??</p>