Here is a glimpse into how a treadmill pushes a wheel back as it accelerates. Note the set-up:
The fire extinguisher is an anchor (overkill, I know) for the rubber band that is tied to a wire that is looped through the axel of the wheel. To keep everything aligned, the wire goes through tubes that are taped to the green stool.
The wheel is resting on the belt sander. When the sander is turned on, the sander and the wheel gain RPM for less than ½ a second. During this time, the wheel shoots to the right, stretching the rubber band. When the sander and wheel stop accelerating and the RPM become constant, the wheel is no longer gaining significant energy from the belt and the rubber band pulls the wheel back to the left where it spins merrily in a steady state of energy.
The acceleration of the wheel stretched the rubber band in the direction of the treadmill (belt sander). This is an example of how a treadmill of unlimited speed could load energy into a wheel of unlimited strength (and through a perfect bearing) through rotational acceleration. Since the force is only applied to the bottom of the wheel where it contacts the treadmill, it is not balanced. A vector of the force is applied to the axel in the same direction of the belt. Note that it will not prevent the plane from moving if it only accelerates for ½ a second. The acceleration (increase in RPM) must be constant, and must be massive.
I hooked a crappy variable speed Dremel motor control to the sander. I sort of got the 2 speed effect. Both movies are available in AVI and QuickTime. The QuickTime ones are in the original Nikon format and are a bit sharper and are easier to move frame by frame.
Watch the movie and imagine things on a much greater scale.
1/250th exposure wheel on sander:
http://hallbuzz.com/movies/wheel_on_sander_250th.AVIhttp://hallbuzz.com/movies/wheel_on_sander_250th.MOV1/250th exposure 2-speed wheel on sander:
http://hallbuzz.com/movies/wheel_on_sander_2_speed.AVIhttp://hallbuzz.com/movies/wheel_on_sander_2_speed.MOV Better movies:
Here is a paper treadmill; the source off acceleration is a falling shoe tied to the paper. On the paper treadmill are a mouse ball, a copper pipe with a rubber band glued around it for traction, and an acrylic ball that may have skid/slip some.
Picture of the set up:
AVI:
http://hallbuzz.com/movies/paper_treadmill.AVIQuickTime
http://hallbuzz.com/movies/paper_treadmill.MOV