Is the lift generated by a hummingbird's wings an example of Newton's Third Law?

[thebosonbreaker]

Hello,
I understand that Newton's laws of motion can explain how a hummingbird is able to hover in front of flowers. There is one question I have in particular, which is,
Is the lift generated by the wings of the bird and its weight force an example of a pair of Newton's third law forces? They seem to be equal in magnitude and opposite in direction but I do not believe they are since the weight force acts through the centre of gravity of the bird whereas the lift is exerted on the air below the wings. Am I right or wrong? If anybody could explain clearly precisely how Newton's laws explain the hovering ability of this wonderful creature I would love to hear and would be grateful for your help.
Thanks in advance.

 

[ZapperZ]

You might want to start with this:

https://news.stanford.edu/2015/03/23/hummingbird-wing-ratio-032315/

Zz.

 

[anorlunda]

This video from a high speed camera makes it easier to visualize. In the video at 1:42, I see that when hovering, the humminbird's wings don't flap up and down, they flap forward and back, and also flip their orientation to provide lift on both the forward and back strokes.

 

[sophiecentaur]

This video from a high speed camera makes it easier to visualize. In the video at 1:42, I see that when hovering, the humminbird's wings don't flap up and down, they flap forward and back, and also flip their orientation to provide lift on both the forward and back strokes.

Light birds are almost in the ‘insect world’ where the viscosity of the air becomes significant. Their lift requires less power expenditure.

 

[Drakkith]

Is the lift generated by the wings of the bird and its weight force an example of a pair of Newton's third law forces?

No, the hummingbird's weight in Earth's gravitational pull and Earth's weight in the hummingbird's gravitational pull are force pairs. The downward force from the wings on the air and the upward force from the air on the wings are another force pair.

When trying to find force pairs, always ask yourself what is acting on what? For the lift on the hummingbird's wings, what is acting on the wings to provide lift? It's not the Earth, it's the air. So the other force that pairs with this lift MUST act on the air and come from the wings. For the hummingbird's weight, what is acting on the hummingbird to produce weight? Well, it's the Earth's gravity. So the other force must come from the hummingbird, act on the Earth, and it must be gravity (force pairs always act through the same fundamental force).

 

[PeterO]

Hello,
I understand that Newton's laws of motion can explain how a hummingbird is able to hover in front of flowers. There is one question I have in particular, which is,
Is the lift generated by the wings of the bird and its weight force an example of a pair of Newton's third law forces? They seem to be equal in magnitude and opposite in direction but I do not believe they are since the weight force acts through the centre of gravity of the bird whereas the lift is exerted on the air below the wings. Am I right or wrong? If anybody could explain clearly precisely how Newton's laws explain the hovering ability of this wonderful creature I would love to hear and would be grateful for your help.
Thanks in advance.

The weight force is a force acting on the bird. The lift force is a force acting on the bird. A Newton's Third Law pair act on different bodies. Body A acts on Body B, an Body B acts on Body A.