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Since the beginning of recorded history, humans have always had a fascination with flight. Now that we live in a world where boarding an airplane and flying across the country – or even the world - is simply a part of everyday life, the wonder of flight has diminished for many. Despite this, physics students from all around continue to delight in the many physical forces that play a part in keeping these huge objects (like jumbo jets) from falling out of the sky!
The common explanation given to those curious about how an airplane wing produces lift uses the Bernoulli Principle. This is the concept that because of the airfoil shape of a wing, the air traveling over the top of the wing must travel faster than the air going under the wing because it has to travel a farther distance. The resulting difference in pressure between the two (higher pressure under the wing) creates lift, keeping the plane in the air.
This explanation is unsatisfactory in a number of ways. It does not consider or explain the important role that the angle of attack plays in flight, nor does not explain how planes can fly upside down (where according to the Bernoulli Principle, the pressure would actually be higher on the top of the wing, pushing the plane down to the ground!). For some interesting arguments and calculations refuting the Bernoulli Principle as a sound explanation for lift in an airplane, check out Gail Craig’s book “Stop Abusing Bernoulli! How Airplanes Really Fly” available from Regenerative Press (see bibliography).
Although the Bernoulli Principle is used to describe many physical phenomena, it does not explain lift. Luckily for us there is a much more sound explanation for how an airplane flies! There are four main forc...
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...er angle of attack helps divert more air downwards, thus creating more lift. If one imagines the air particles as bullets hitting the wing of the airplane, an increased angle of attack increases the number of air particles that will hit the bottom of the wing, thus increasing the amount of air being “scooped” and diverted downwards.
However, there is a limit to this great thing we call angle of attack. Generally any angle greater than 15 degrees will cause the plane to stall. The stall happens because, as discussed earlier, the viscous property of air “wants” to follow a curve, but is limited to its level of “stickiness” to the surface of the plane. As the angle of attack increases, the air has a harder time “sticking” to the surface and eventually simply passes right over the wing without following the surface, resulting in the loss of lift (a.k.a. stall).
Ever since I was little I was amazed at the ability for a machine to fly. I have always wanted to explore ideas of flight and be able to actually fly. I think I may have found my childhood fantasy in the world of aeronautical engineering. The object of my paper is to give me more insight on my future career as an aeronautical engineer. This paper was also to give me ideas of the physics of flight and be to apply those physics of flight to compete in a high school competition.
Major Ted Tolman’s F-105 Thud fighter/bomber streaked through the air at just under the speed of sound. His aircraft performed modestly at best, struggling to maintain its speed and altitude under the heavy load of ordinance and fuel it carried under its wings (Patrick).
In this paper you will learn so much about rockets you can become a rocket specialist. Many may ask how do rockets work? Many will respond that they are pushed against something but that is wrong. Since rocket's main purpose are to travel in space where there is nothing, not even air they can not rely on “something” to push themselves against in space. This is the right answer to how rockets work; Rockets use fuel, they burn the fuel and it turns into hot gas.
Aviation has come a long way since the 19th century, from the Wright brothers taking flight with the first powered and controlled gliders, to aircraft that can travel up to supersonic speeds, orbiting satellites and space stations which then were only thought to be science-fiction. Aerospace and aviation has proven to be one of the biggest challenges to advance in the entirety of human existence. There are many factors and characteristics that contributed to this advancement such as the engines of aircraft, forces of flight, aerodynamic forces, wingspans etc. The two most significant aspects however have been; World War 1 and World War 2.
Heppenheimer, T. (2001). A Brief History Of Flight: From Balloons to Mach 3 and Beyond. Canada: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Introduction What lets a paper plane to float through air? And why does the paper plane land? To find this out, we will discover the science in flying a paper plane and also the different forces that act upon the paper plane in order for it to fly and land. These forces apply to real airplanes.
Lift is the same principle that is related to airplanes, because the sail of a sailboat is virtually the same as the wing of an airplane, but turned sideways. The curve of the modern day lateen sail creates
If the air pressure inside a ball is changed, then the ball with the greatest air pressure will produce the greatest bounce height. This is because having a greater air pressure means that there will be more molecules pressing and pushing against the bladder of the ball, thus, applying more force to to ball when it rebounds from the ground, and giving it a greater bounce height.
When a rocket is in flight, the force of the air pushing on it keeps the Cp behind the Cg. This is important because the rocket is pushed by the force of the exhaust coming out the back. If the Cp was in front of the Cg, the rocket would want to spin around (so that its back was pointing forwards).. However, because the exhaust is always pushing the rocket forward, it spins around again and again... and you get the picture from there.
The Wright brothers started off with small kites testing various principles, such as when wings on one side of the kite were bent the other side would receive more lift. They then moved onto using gliders. The gliders were first flown something like a kite, being held by tethers. They began to fly the gliders, often not getting far off the ground, but they did manage to achieve unpowered flight. It was not until 1903 and the Wright Flyer I that the Wright brothers attempted powered flight. (Kent 562)
This paper will explain a few of the key concepts behind the physics of skydiving. First we will explore why a skydiver accelerates after he leaps out of the plane before his jump, second we will try and explain the drag forces effecting the skydiver, and lastly we will attempt to explain how terminal velocity works.
Thrust Vectoring was first used in a trivial form on Nazi Germany’s V-2 rockets. These rockets were devastating to the Allies in WWII with their accuracy due to graphite control vanes that helped the guidance of the missile. Modern rockets, both SAMs and Air-to-Air missiles have been using thrust vectoring to increase their agility in flight, and hence make them more lethal. During the Cold War German military planers recognized the shear numbers of Soviet fighters, and believing that any war would include intense Dog Fighting, began to look for ways to even the odds. Wolfgang Herbst with the Messerschmitt-Boelkow-Blohm, now Deutsche Aerospace, Company led a team in Post-Stall engineering. Post-Stall describes a flight condition in which normal flight controls, like flaps, are no longer sufficient to maintain the flight ability of the aircraft. His team investigated new flight laws to describe the movement of an aircraft in Post-Stall flying conditions.
The basic concepts of lift for an airplane is seen. The air that is flowing splits to move around a wing. The air that that moves over the wing speeds up creating lower pressure which means that the higher pressure from the air moving slower under the wing pushes up trying to equalize the pressure. The lift generated can be affected by the angle at which the wing is moving into the flowing air. The more surface area of the wing resisting against the flow of air can either generate lift or make the plane dive. This can be easily simulated in everday life. Next time you are riding in a car with someone stick your hand out the window. Have your fingers pointing in the direction of the motion of the vehicle. Now move your hand up and down slightly. You can feel the lift and drag that your hand creates.
plane and a boat's sail lifts and pushes it forward. Imagine the sail of a boat
Bosnor, Kevin. "How Flying Cars Will Work." Howstuffworks. How Stuff Works Inc., 1998. Web. 24 Jan.