The discussion centers on the principles behind the Blackbird vehicle, which operates on the concept of moving faster than the wind by leveraging wind power through mechanical means, akin to a pulley system. Participants express frustration over misconceptions regarding wind speed and power, particularly in relation to a bet involving a physics professor who misinterpreted these concepts. The conversation highlights the sociological aspects of scientific understanding, emphasizing the difference between memorization and true comprehension in physics. The thread also critiques the moderation practices in forums that stifle educational discourse on this topic.
PREREQUISITESPhysics enthusiasts, educators, and anyone interested in the mechanics of wind-powered vehicles and the sociological aspects of scientific discourse will benefit from this discussion.
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:
