Physics in Aircrafts

Physics in Aircrafts

All you need to know about the role physics plays in the flight of an aircraft.

Introduction

Many people are amazed with the flight of an object, especially one the size of an airplane, but they do not realize how much physics plays a role in this amazing incident. There are many different ways in which physics aids the flight of an aircraft. In the following few paragraphs some of the many ways will be described so that you, the reader, will realize physics at work in the world of flight.

Principles of Flight

First of all you will have to understand the principles of flight. An airplane flies because air moving over and under its surfaces, particularly its wings, travels at different velocities, producing a difference in air pressure, low above the wing and high below it. The low pressure exerts a pulling influence, and the high pressure a pushing influence. The lifting force, usually called lift, depends on the shape, area, and tilt of the wing, and on the speed of the aircraft. The shape of the wing causes the air streaming above and below the wing to travel at different velocities. The greater distance over which the air must travel above the curved upper surface forces that air to move faster to keep pace with the air moving along the flat lower surface. According to Bernoulli’s principle, it is this difference in air velocity that produces the difference in air pressure.

Bernoulli's Principle

Bernoulli’s principle is the concept that as the speed of a moving fluid (liquid or gas) increases, the pressure within that fluid decreases. This principle was originally formulated in 1738 by the Swiss mathematician and physicist Daniel Bernoulli, it states that the total energy in a steadily flowing ...

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... force toward the rear that must be overcome by the forward thrust of the engines. As the angle of attack of an airplane is increased, the plane gains lift, but the lift is limited. As the angle is increased, air turbulence spreads over the wing. Then at a certain critical point (an angle of about 14 degrees in many airplanes), the wing loses lift and the plane stalls, nosing over into a dive.

Conclusion

As a conclusion, I hope these previous paragraphs have given you the knowledge that everyone dealing with physics or airplanes should possess. These factors may not show all that physics has to contribute in the flight of an aircraft but they do show the major contributions. After reading these paragraphs, you should now have greater respect for physics, not just in airplanes, but in the world, because it is all around you and nothing can exist or work without it.