unscientific poll - bumble bees

[Jack Crenshaw]

I think the reality was even more limited than this.  They computed the surface area of a
bumblebee's wing, calculated how much lift it could generate, and concluded it was less
than the weight of the bumblebee.  Conclusion:  If the bumblebee stops flapping his
wings, he will fall.  Big revelation.

In reality, the wings of bugs don't operate in the regime of normal aerodynamics at all.
That regime is incompressible flow with essentially negligible viscosity.  At the scale
of a bug, even one as large as a bumblebee, the air is viscous.  It's more like flying
through molasses than through air, and the fluid flow is entirely different.

Re the "scientist's say" line:  I _HATE_ that line.  My usual response is, "Wait a
minute:  I'm a scientist. _I_ don't say that.  Who's saying that?"

That usually slows them down a bit.

Jack

Brian Waldron wrote:

> On Sep 28,  9:51pm, Gene A Nailon wrote:
>
> } I have been told that the Scientific Community, has determined
> } that the Bumble Bee CAN NOT FLY
> } The Bumble Bee however does not know this, so he flys anyway.
> }
>
> As I understand it, the statement was more along the lines of:
>
> "Given our current understanding of aerodynamics, we (the Scientific
> Community) are unable to explain how the bumble bee can fly"
>
> The media turned that into "Scientists Say Bumble Bee Can't Fly"
> and we've been misquoting it ever since.
>
> Heath content:
>
> I enjoy using my Heath equipment.  I really enjoyed building it.
> When I was a kid, I would get a Heathkit for Christmas, and spend
> my holiday vacation putting it together, sometimes working late into
> the wee hours of New Years morning.
>
> If I were to find an unbuilt Heathkit today at a reasonable price,
> I would build it - as that would be the closest I could come to
> real time travel.
>
> -Brian WB8JEA
>
> --
> waldron at wrc.xerox.com
>
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