"What is the difference between a duck?"
Is this relevant? Well, one of the more reasonable sounding responses that I've heard to this tricky little question is: "One of its legs is both the same". So, if we can find a way to map this back to the laminar flow, then perhaps some light may be shed on what that was all about.
In any case the question reminds me of a nice quote that I came across not long ago...
"He may look like an idiot and talk like an idiot but don't let that fool you. He really is an idiot."
- Groucho Marx
I have another one, Clive. 'What is the difference between a Raven and a Writing Desk?
Anyway,the laminar flow is different in each case, Clive. It is an indicator that something is
wrong. Here we go.
Take the F1/BMW wind tunnel. This is a correct model, that uses real wind. The car is also artificially stabilized.
A typical application would be to test the car for 100kph on the road, in still air. This is simulated by the wind from that big fan, blowing as a headwind. The belt could be off, as this is normally an adequate simulation. In F1, they are also looking to simulate the road as the car passes over it. This they do by running the belt backwards.
Ignoring the laminar flow, this arrangement has the correct attributes and relative velocities. Note, though, that the belt speed is not actually physically related to the wind, but
only by the calculation. The operator may change that as desired. This may lead to situations where the belt is going faster than the wind, or numerous other combinations. The beltspeed, and so the model, is only correct for one value, that of the speed of the wind.
This means that the beltspeed must
follow the wind's speed. If you reduce the wind, you reduce the beltspeed and so on, until zero. That is correct, zero wind, belt off.
Now, what you
cannot do, is turn on the belt in still air, and equate that to motion on the road in reality. That is
no more than a careless operator may do, but with the wind off. There is no
causal relationship between the wind and the belt. It is "really" the road, but is
artificially contrived, because for one thing, the car is not moving.
(Also, to make the model good, the wind must have the power, not the belt.)
The same reasoning goes for tailwinds.
If you think of the erroneous beltspeed as a 'reversal', then things become right again, but this means driving
up (with) the belt, not against it.
The current problem is that everything; velocity, KE, "wind",force, is backwards, except the cart. That's why the (belt) laminar flow is wrong. It's the one thing relative to the belt, that cannot be metaphorically reversed.
There is a definite difference in the lamina flow in wind and on the treadmill.
The general flow is opposite to the tailwind. If you imagine that you are being dragged back with the belt "wind on back" then yes, you will get a laminar flow coming from behind you, but there is also one coming
towards you from the belt, dragged by the belt, towards you. This looks OK, but if you move up the belt, then you will see the relationship of the two laminar flows will change. A hand placed across the belt tells you that this is not the laminar flow of tailwind, but another spurious wind, that is also there if there is nothing on the belt to create the "pushing wind".
If you could
run with the belt, (or stand on the belt) and so create your own 'headwind' then the laminar flow from the belt will match up. The mirror is complete.
That the power from the
wind comes from the
belt, explains the remainder.