The discussion revolves around the concept of how the Blackbird vehicle can move faster than the wind that powers it, exploring the principles of leverage and wind power. Participants engage in a mix of technical reasoning, sociological observations about misconceptions in physics, and references to related thought experiments like the Monty Hall problem.
Participants express a variety of views on the Blackbird's operation, with no consensus reached. Some agree on the importance of leveraging wind power, while others remain skeptical or confused about the underlying physics. The discussion reflects ongoing debate and differing interpretations of the principles involved.
Participants note that misunderstandings may stem from mixing definitions and assumptions about wind speed and power. There are unresolved mathematical steps and varying interpretations of the physics involved in the Blackbird's operation.
This discussion may be of interest to those exploring concepts in physics, particularly in relation to mechanics, energy transfer, and the sociological aspects of scientific understanding.
Ah, but when it's going downwind the wheels do the energy input (exert drag) and the prop does the propulsion, sort of like the bike wheels making the pedals go instead of the other way around.Averagesupernova said:
Multiple times, and I'd like to merge this new thread into the latest one, but I'm having trouble finding it. I seem to remember it was based on a good video about some bet that somebody won doing a test with a prototype. Anybody able to find it? Thanks.Halc said:
Isn't that the video linked to in the OP of this thread?berkeman said:
You think it was the same video? I'm not sure how to search on that. Plus, I seem to remember that the still picture for the video in the previous thread showed the vehicle sailing downwind on a desert flat of some kind, not faces...vela said:
The thread below?berkeman said:
You are my hero! Thanks. Merging this new thread start by @Ranger Mike into that thread. Thanks vela.vela said:
This topic is probably the better thread. But I found some older posts, but part of another general thread on wind powered land vehicles.berkeman said:You are my hero! Thanks. Merging this new thread start by @Ranger Mike into that thread. Thanks vela.
Here the latest previous related discussion, which shows how counter-intuitive the basic mechanical principles behind it are to some, so it will come up again and again:Halc said:
What do we mean by the word "understand"? Hard to say in the case of an on-going discipline like Science. To understand the present state of knowledge doesn't mean your picture will be the correct one in the future. It can only mean that you have arranged all the facts (at the time) in your mind in a way that's self-consistent and which allows you to extrapolate reliably and to predict accurately what will happen in new situations / experiments.AnssiH said:
