Why bumblebee can not fly according to the laws of physics
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- Flight of the Bumblebee
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- Bumblebee
Many scientific hypotheses, and then laws, were discovered by observing animals. The first devices for paragliding humans in the air were copied from the wings of birds and insects. Scientists analyzed the principle of flight of a living creature and tried to explain it from a scientific point of view. And only recently they were able to understand why the bumblebee flies.
On a note!
The attention of researchers and people of science was attracted by a small insect, which, contrary to all the laws of physics known at that time, is flying.His three-dimensional body, the shape of which does not correspond to aerodynamic conditions, did not fit in any way with small nondescript wings. All in one voice argued that bumblebee can not fly with such physical data.
Erroneous hypothesis
Mathematical formulas and laws of aerodynamics explained the flights of many insects:
- butterflies;
- bees;
- flies;
- mosquitoes;
- beetles and many others.
Any flying creature was subjected to aeroanalysis and after some calculations it became clear how it flies. When the turn came to the bumblebee, which is the closest relative of the bee, scientists are stumped. They tried to apply the formula that calculates the lifting force acting on the aircraft.
On a note!
It is not surprising that these formulas did not fit the flight of the insect. The surface area of its wings was too small to create a force capable of lifting an overweight body. There was no talk of planning in the air stream here. The conclusion was unequivocal and curious: the bumblebee cannot fly.
It's all about the wings
Science and technology did not stand still, and soon the question of the flight of the bumblebee returned.Now, the solution to this problem has been approached more carefully, recording on a video camera how a bumblebee flies. With the help of modern equipment, it was possible to consider all the movements of the wings of an insect in slow motion and begin to build a new hypothesis.
In the video, experts saw the principle of movement of the wings. Small and inconspicuous, they made very unusual strokes. In addition to reciprocating movements, they simultaneously made barely noticeable vibrational vibrations, more like a shiver. It is these high-frequency oscillations that caused the flight of the insect.
Interesting!
During the observations of the movement of the wings of the bee's relative, it was calculated that he performs 300-400 strokes per second.
Thanks to these microvibrations of the wings, air turbulence with a variable density value is created around their ends. The difference in the density of air flows and creates a lifting force acting on the insect. The flapping of the wings of a butterfly or a bee does not possess such twists, therefore, initially they could not reach this conclusion.
Evidence from the physicist
For the first time, a scientifically-based conclusion on the flight of a bumblebee was presented to a general survey in the middle of the last century. Female physicist Zheng Jane Wang, who works at the famous Cornell University in the United States, provided an evidence base for the formation of lift due to twists.
The physicist spent a lot of time on thorough research on this issue, and there were no objections to her hypothesis. She also noted that the main mistake of scientists, assuring that according to the laws of physics, the bumblebee cannot fly, was the lack of sufficient knowledge in certain sections of aerodynamics.
The use of the formulas by which the flight of an airliner with a static state of the wings is calculated is impossible to calculate the flight of an insect that flaps its wings actively in several planes. Such movement in the air is a vivid example of the section of non-stationary gas-viscous dynamics.
The result of all these studies was the final conclusion that the shaggy relative of the bee can fly. More interesting is the fact that the insect and without these complex and long conclusions of the great minds both flew and continues to fly.Even if a new hypothesis of the aerodynamics of a bumblebee appears later, it will still make its daily flights, no matter what.
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