Scientists have long pondered the possibilities of hydrodynamic benefits to the ways fish school. But most analyses of schooling have assumed a fixed spacing that’s far more orderly than what Keep reading
Tag: flapping flight
Meet BILLY
Many wings in nature are not rigid. Instead they flex and curve with the flow. Here researchers imitate that phenomenon with BILLY (Bio-Inspired Lightweight and Limber wing prototYpe). Using an evolutionary-style algorithm, Keep reading
Flying With Geese
Some people fly with geese to train them for wind tunnel tests, and some people fly with them to teach them safer migratory paths. Today’s video focuses on the latter, Keep reading
Perching Aerodynamics
When birds come in for a landing, they pitch back and heave their wings as they come to a stop in a perching maneuver. Some birds, researchers noticed, partially fold Keep reading
Featherwings in Flight
The featherwing beetle is tiny, less than half a millimeter in length. At that scale, flying is a challenge, with air’s viscosity dominating the forces the insect must overcome. The Keep reading
Turbulence in Flight
Eagles and other birds spend much of their lives in the turbulence of our atmospheric boundary layer. Some of their interactions with turbulence — like using topographical effects to aid Keep reading
Portraits of Flight
During lockdown, photographer Doris Mitsch turned her eyes to the sky and began capturing these mesmerizing composite images of animals in flight. Vultures, crows, starlings, gulls, and bats all feature Keep reading
Butterflies Emerging
When a butterfly emerges from its chrysalis, it flaps its wings to help pump fluids through its body, essentially inflating its new adult form. You get a glimpse of that Keep reading
The Best of FYFD 2021
A year ago I observed what a strange year 2020 had been, and in many ways, I could say the same of 2021. Before the pandemic, I spent quite a Keep reading
“In Flight”
Photographer Mark Harvey captured these stunning portraits of birds in flight. From acrobatic songbirds to soaring raptors, the images show the incredible morphology of a bird’s wing during flight. Most Keep reading