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Plant Week: Dandelions in Flight

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Nicole Sharp

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To kick off Plant Week here on FYFD, we’re taking a closer look at that ubiquitous flower: the dandelion. Love ‘em or hate ‘em, these little guys manage to get just about everywhere, thanks in part to their amazing ability to stay windborne for up to 150 km! To do that, the dandelion uses a bristly umbrella of tiny filaments, known as a pappus, that can generate more than four times the drag per area of a solid disk. Its porosity – all that empty space between the filaments – is also key to its stability; it helps create and stabilize a separated vortex ring that the seed uses to stay aloft. Check out the full video below! (Image and video credit: N. Sharp)

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2 responses to “Plant Week: Dandelions in Flight”

  1. Edison Lin Avatar
    Edison Lin

    This is a really clear explanation of just how effective the pappus of the dandelion is and why. I appreciate its connection to basic force balances-gravity trying to pull the seed down and the aerodynamic force pushing up, which can be attributed to the effects of pressure and viscosity on the porous pappus. The part about the vortex ring really clarified just how stable the flight path was.

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  2. Jalen Mahone Avatar
    Jalen Mahone

    The blog post Dandelions in Flight does a very good job of explaining how the dandelion works. It gives us not only a good understanding of the plant but also shows us how its affected by forces. These forces being gravity, pressure, and a little bit of viscosity. Which all contribute to the flight of the dandelion.

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