In the early morning light, young photographer Max Wood captured this coot escaping a fight. With wings flapping, the bird runs across the water surface. Each slap and stroke of Keep reading
Tag: lift
Flying Out of the Water
Flying fish and diving birds often navigate the interface between water and air in their flight, but few studies have actually looked at the effects of this transition on lift. Keep reading
Whiffling Geese
This wild photograph shows a goose flying upside down with its head turned 180 degrees in a behavior known as whiffling. In this orientation, the bird’s typical lift characteristics are Keep reading
Tokyo 2020: Sailing Faster Than The Wind
It’s a bit mindboggling, but by exploiting physics and geometry, a sailboat can reach speeds faster than the wind propelling it. Steve Mould demonstrates how in this video using some Keep reading
Tokyo 2020: Sailing Physics
At first glance, sailboats don’t look much like an airplane, but physics-wise, they’re closely related. Both the sail and hull of a sailboat act like wings turned on their side. Keep reading
When Squids Fly
Some species of squid fly at speeds comparable to a motorboat for distances of 50 meters. The cephalopods get into the air the same way they swim underwater: by expelling Keep reading
Planes Lift
Need a little refresher on how airplanes fly? The middle school students of The Nueva School have you covered with their latest science rap parody. They take a look at 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
Swimming, Cycling, and Sailing
Summer brings with it lots of great sports, and whether you love riding a bike, sailing a boat, or just hanging out at the pool, our latest FYFD/JFM video has Keep reading
Flying Backwards
Spend a summer afternoon floating in a kayak and chances are you’ll see some impressive aerial acrobatics from dragonflies. One of the dragonfly’s superpowers is its ability to fly backwards, Keep reading