Colonial-Marine said:That thing will never fly!
Colonial-Marine said:That thing will never fly!
The "science has proved that bees can't fly" urban myth originated in a 1934 book by entomologist Antoine Magnan, who discussed a mathematical equation by Andre Sainte-Lague, an engineer. The equation proved that the maximum lift for an aircraft's wings could not be achieved at equivalent speeds of a bee. I.e., an airplane the size of a bee, moving as slowly as a bee, could not fly. Although this did not mean a bee can't fly (which after all does not have stationary wings like the posited teency aircraft), nevertheless the idea that Magnan's book said bees oughtn't be able to fly began to spread.
It spread at first as a joke in European universities, at Sainte-Lague's & Magnan's expense. But later it became a "fact" among the gullible or the uneducated not smart enough to get the joke.
"According to the theory of aerodynamics, the bumble bee is unable to fly. This is because the size, weight and shape of its body in relation to the total wing spread make flying impossible. But the bumble bee, being ignorant of these profound scientific truths, goes ahead and flies anyway and also manages to make a little honey every day."
AeroFranz said:Personally I like this version of the urban myth:
"According to the theory of aerodynamics, the bumble bee is unable to fly. This is because the size, weight and shape of its body in relation to the total wing spread make flying impossible. But the bumble bee, being ignorant of these profound scientific truths, goes ahead and flies anyway and also manages to make a little honey every day."
I'd have to go look at my low-Reynolds aerodynamics books, but IIRC part of the 'unaccounted' lift comes from some wing interaction with vortex shedding at the tips after each flap motion, something very hard to model.
AeroFranz said:Personally I like this version of the urban myth:
the 1934 French book Le vol des insectes; they had applied the equations of air resistance to insects and found that their flight was impossible,
but that "One shouldn't be surprised that the results of the calculations don't square with reality"
John Maynard Smith a noted naturalist with a strong background in aeronautics, has pointed out that bumblebees would not be expected to sustain flight,
as they would need to generate too much power given their tiny wing area. However, in aerodynamics experiments with other insects he found that viscosity at
the scale of small insects meant that even their small wings can move a very large volume of air relative to the size,
and this reduces the power required to sustain flight by an order of magnitude.
Michel Van said:back to Owl
maintenance and servicing
AeroFranz said:Michel Van said:back to Owl
maintenance and servicing
That's one pissed off owl if I ever saw one ;D
Sundog said:I can't stop laughing looking at that. He looks like a muppet. rofl.
Nik said:
Sundog said:AeroFranz said:Personally I like this version of the urban myth:
"According to the theory of aerodynamics, the bumble bee is unable to fly. This is because the size, weight and shape of its body in relation to the total wing spread make flying impossible. But the bumble bee, being ignorant of these profound scientific truths, goes ahead and flies anyway and also manages to make a little honey every day."
I'd have to go look at my low-Reynolds aerodynamics books, but IIRC part of the 'unaccounted' lift comes from some wing interaction with vortex shedding at the tips after each flap motion, something very hard to model.
Actually, I believe we have finally defined how insects, such as the bee, fly. I think it was determined as part of the research into micro-air vehicles, since the military basically wants insect like UAV's for spying. To literally become the "fly on the wall."
Secrets Of Insect Flight Revealed.
You see I was commenting on the very fact you point out in a humorous way. If you read any of my posts I have not engaged in the type of F-35 discussion you disparage. My humor WAS directed at them apparently it did not 'translate' well confirmed by the seriousness of your reply to me. I profusely apologize and will self flaggellate for upsetting you. :'(AeroFranz said:ha ha....funny...not.
Leave it to rest, will you? this is a thread about frickin' awesome birds and you have to drag diatribes that were segregated to their own 'no holds barred' topic for a very specific reason. This borders monomania...
No problem AeroFranz you are a scholar and a gentleman and to the many senior members I have learned more from this site about the technologies I love than anything I could have accomplished in two lifetimes, thank you gentlemen!AeroFranz said:Ok, sincere apologies to bobbymike. :-[
It's hard to discern intention in posts, emoticons don't always do the job.
saintkatanalegacy said:^flexing