The Mystery of Fly Flight: Debunking Bernoulli's Law Explanation

  • Thread starter feynmann
  • Start date
In summary, flies fly because their wings are flat instead of curved like those of birds. The theory based on Bernoulli's law fails to explain it since the wings of fly are flat, not curved like the wings of birds. However, insects can fly due to the flapping of their wings which generate a downforce and an upforce on the air, and hummingbirds have the best flying capabilities because of their coordinated figure 8 flapping pattern.
  • #36
lividz said:
Look this was shown on discovery...
actually the wings of the fly create whirl of wind[sorry for that..I can't find the exact word now...hope u understand what I want to convey]...on its lower back side...this is the main cause of lift

You do realize, I was sitting in a room with Dr. Michael H. Dickinson and other experts from the around the country that deal with this...right?

http://dickinson.caltech.edu/old/index.html
 
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  • #37
Birds and insects fly in several modes. The flapping wing and flap-slap are the most well know.

It takes a few cord lengths to generate the captive vortex encircling the wind before it can develop good lift (Wagner effect). The figure eight motion (and who knows what else?) enables hovering flight.
 
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  • #38
^so...I didnt read it at that time..but thanks for info...
 
  • #39
lividz said:
^so...I didnt read it at that time..but thanks for info...

Oh, OK, Lividz. Now I understand your post.
 
  • #40
^no that was targeted @cyrus:

You do realize, I was sitting in a room with Dr. Michael H. Dickinson and other experts from the around the country that deal with this...right?

No, I just realized that!
I posted it just by reading the very 1st post...and as u may b knowing they don't show the hardcore details on shows abt such things...

neways...ok...coz its my mistake...that I posted a useless post .. just by knowing a small fraction of the whole scene...

but cyrus post conveys that there r sum guys who can explain it to me in much more details than I could ever get from other sources...thats good...

Lemme go thru the posts till now...
 
  • #41
<Moan> Please take the time to type in full English or don't bother posting.
 
  • #42
lividz said:
^no that was targeted @cyrus:



...

try to use the quote feature next time:wink:
 
  • #43
Cyrus said:
The solution is an approximation to the N-S equations, but the Equations are not an approximation.
That was my point. One rarely solves the N-S equations. They approximate them.
 
  • #44
Check out this particular study on dragonfly wings and cross sectional corregations that result from veins in the wings.

http://jeb.biologists.org/cgi/reprint/203/20/3125.pdf"
 
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  • #45
Phrak said:
Check out this particular study on dragonfly wings and cross sectional corregations that result from veins in the wings.

http://jeb.biologists.org/cgi/reprint/203/20/3125.pdf"

Thanks for this article, I'm going to forward it to my advisor! Very interesting results too!
 
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