Aerodynamics - grump & rant

Tantalum said:
Buy one for the price of two and get an extra one absolutely free!!
Click to expand...
So, your grammar says I get three. One for the price of it plus the second one. And then, I get an extra (the third one).
 
Guys, please be careful parsing the miracle of flight...

If you go too far, we may discover that we have been attributing properties to lift, and wings, etc&et.al, only to discover we can't fly at all!

How tragic would that be....

Some future dad explaining to his son who is marvelling at birds and wishing he could do as they do...

"Son, we used to be able to fly in things called aeroplanes. But scientists discovered that what they were doing could not actually be supported scientifically. And no one could fly anymore. It was a terrible tragedy. For decades, the letters "p," "o," and "a" were removed from our language in protest. (No one remembers why).

It's best not to look too closely at wings in flight...
 
Better question - why does air move more slowly under the wing?

Compression? Conservation of energy? Bernoulli?
 
CharlieD3 said:
So, your grammar says I get three. One for the price of it plus the second one. And then, I get an extra (the third one).
Click to expand...
No it doesn't. He buys one and he gets one free. But he still pays for the price of two.
 
sgenie said:
The standard explanation of lift is problematic for another important reason as well: the air shooting over the wing doesn't have to stay in step with the air going underneath it, and nothing says it has to travel a bigger distance in the same time.
Click to expand...
I have had people ask me that question. I just told them that the air molecules aren't actually moving at all. They stay in place while the wing moves past them. And both the top of the wing AND the bottom of the wing MUST travel together.

Then when they ask about "well how about in a wind tunnel where the air actually IS moving?
That is how we prove that Bernoulli was right.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top