Question

A flying bird is trapped in an airtight container sitting on the ground. The bird attempts to escape by flying into the ceiling of the container. Will the bird be able to make the container leave the ground and sustain it in flight?

Answer 1

A flying bird trapped in an airtight container will not be able to make the container fly since all the forces it exerts on the air inside are internal to the system, and as per Newton's third law, they cannot produce a net external force to lift the container.

Step-by-step explanation:

No, a flying bird trapped in an airtight container would not be able to make the container leave the ground and sustain it in flight. The principle behind this is Newton's third law of motion, which states that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. When the bird pushes against the air to fly upwards, the air pushes back against the bird with equal force.

However, the air is enclosed within the container, so all forces the bird exerts on the air and thus the container get balanced within the system. Since the forces are internal to the system, they cannot result in a net external force that would be required to lift the container off the ground. The overall center of mass for the system comprising the bird and container remains constant relative to the ground, and the system as a whole cannot become airborne due to the bird's flight efforts inside.