Terry B
At 08:23 AM 9/15/98 -0400, Steve wrote:
>At 01:06 AM 9/15/98 -0500, you wrote:
>>Hi Norm!
>>
>>I've heard that also the humming bird and bumble bee exhibit the same
>>'impossible' flight characteristics you mention in the beetle....
>__________
>If I remember correctly, there was a news bullitin early this year, which
>stated that scientists had finally figured this one out; but something
>about their explination, still didn't ring true with me.
>
>They said that the reason that these 'aerodynamically unproprtional'
>animals were still able to fly, had to do with the fact that the fierce
>beating of their wings created a high pressure cushion of air that they
>stayed aloft on. Well, I can see how this might work close to the ground,
>as this is called 'ground effect' when applied to a plane. An aircraft
>'feels' the affect upon its underside, of the very forces it creates by
>moving through the air, reflected off of the ground. However, when a plane
>moves up, it takes itself out of the 'sphere of influence' of 'ground
>effect'. And, by my way of figuring, the same should hold true for these
>little fellas too! UNLESS, there is some sort of 'micro-aeronautical
>dynamics', that haven't as yet been fully explained. It seems to me that
>any high pressure created by their beating wings is going to sink away from
>them. And I don't see how that 'cushion' is going to stay around long
>enough for them to hover, like they do!
>
>Those scientist may have well discovered this new set of rules; but it lost
>something in the recounting of the news story. You know how they 'dumb
>down' everything for public consumption. Perhaps that happened here.
>
>Stephen Brummitt
>dev@icx.net
>
>
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