>From: Bill Aycock <baycock@direcway.com>
>To: Tom Rauch <w8ji@contesting.com>, ChetMoore <ChetMoore@cox.net>,Bill
><w5vx@hiline.net>, towertalk@contesting.com
>Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] C-31XR vs. 4 el. SteppIR
>Date: Thu, 17 Mar 2005 06:57:19 -0600
Origins of Bumblebee anecdote relative to applyiing the correct model to the
reality...
From:
http://www.paghat.com/beeflight.html
Folks,
I found the following details on the Bumblebee flying/urban myth question:
(edited slightly for space, full text at URL.)
The aerodynamic equations that explain airplane flight are based on
steady-wing & not mobile-wing function. That a steady-wing airplane the size
& shape of a bee will not fly has no bearing whatsoever or the vastly more
complicated mobile-wing functions of insects.
Though the folklore began as a joke about a steady-wing flight equation
foolishly applied to mobile-wing, as often seems inevitable of folklore, the
joke took on its own separate life. Silly reasoning evolved, building
fallacy upon fallacy: Bees can't fly because it takes rear-wings to steady
the flight, & they have no rear wings so they should tumble through the air
ass-over-teakettle. No, that's not it, bee's can't possibly fly because it
is physically impossible for wings to beat as fast as bee's wings beat. No
wait, bees can't fly because the texture of their wings is too flat, unlike
a bird or an airplane designed like airfoil. Oh! No! Wait! Though bees can
fly (because we've seen 'em do it) & it does follow physics, nevertheless
science can't explain it, so there!
Well, actually, Navier-Stokes flight equations are applicable to bees, &
were developed in the early 1800s. So all that is really true is this: most
of us couldn't follow Navier-Stokes theories of motion even if a professor
tried to make it simple for us, so we still have to make an emotional
decision to embrace the strong probability that physics do govern the
universe, or that physics have no applicability because God & magic rules
the universe.
Someone Wrote:
The original statement is true. It is: If you analyze the Bumble Bee by the
rules of classical aerodynamics, you will find that the Bumble Bee cant fly;
However, the Bumble Bee does not
operate by the Rules of classical aerodynamics, so he can fly very well.
Reminds one of some of the discussions here; wrong model- wrong answer.
Bill
At 08:53 PM 3/16/2005 -0500, Someone wrote:
Remember the operative word here is "modeled" in the
models, a bumble can't
fly
che n6zo
Che,
That actually is just one of those urban myths.
In the model and through calculations, a bumble bee can fly.
73 Tom
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