As pilots can tell you, flying near the ground (or an open expanse of water) gives one an aerodynamic boost. Essentially, the surface acts like a mirror, reflecting and dissipating Keep reading
Tag: aerodynamics
Inside a Wind Tunnel
When I was in graduate school, I worked in a facility known as the High-Speed Wind Tunnel Lab. We were located next door to the Low-Speed Wind Tunnel, and every Keep reading
Vortices and Ground Effect
Though typically unseen, the vortices that swirl from the tips of aircraft wings are powerful. Here you see a Hawker Sea Fury equipped with a smoke system used to visualize Keep reading
The Tacoma Narrows Bridge
One of the most dramatic and famous engineering failures of the twentieth century is also one of the most complicated: the collapse of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge. This early suspension Keep reading
Flying on Flexible Wings
Bats are incredible and rather unique among today’s fliers. Like birds, they flap to produce their lift and thrust, but where birds have relatively stiff wings, a bat’s wings are Keep reading
The Actual Shape of Raindrops
If you imagine the shape of a raindrop, you probably think of a tear drop shape, but the reality of rain is much more complicated. It’s Okay to Be Smart Keep reading
The Protection of the Peloton
It’s well-known by professional cyclists that sitting in the middle of the peloton requires little effort to overcome aerodynamic drag, but now, for the first time, there’s a scientific study Keep reading
The Telstar 18
Every four years, Adidas creates a newly designed ball for the World Cup. This year’s version is the Telstar 18, which features six glued panels (no stitching!) with a slightly Keep reading
Star Wars Aerodynamics
Science fiction is not always known for hewing to scientific fact, so it will probably come as little surprise that Star Wars’ ships have terrible aerodynamics. But it’s nevertheless fun Keep reading
Collecting Fog
In some parts of the world, fog is a major source of freshwater, but collecting it is a challenge. Most systems use a wire mesh to capture and collect droplets, Keep reading