Flying Contraptions
Mathematically speaking, this particular flying object shouldn’t be able to fly. What do you think about that?
Why can this thing fly? It doesn’t even LOOK like a plane! When I teach at the university, this is the plane that mathematically isn’t supposed to be able to fly! There are endless variations to this project—you can change the number of loops and the size of loops, you can tape two of these together, or you can make a whole pyramid of them. Just be sure to have fun!
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i can’t access this one but can the other!!!
help!
thanks!
now how did that happen?? i can not acces the diaper gene video but i can access the 2nd one why the comment went under this video i will nver know????
We had a super day with all the wonderful science experiments! Thank you so much!
We didn’t think this one would work– I was really surprised- looking forward to putting two together tomorrow. Thanks for a great first day of camp.
we just did this and we were wondering why this would work even though it Mathematically shouldn’t?
Hi Aurora
Can you please tell me why it is mathematically impossible to fly, bearing in mind that I am not mathematically or scientifically minded.
Thanks
You’re right – it’s a bit complicated to explain outside a graduate level aerodynamics class, but here goes: there are FOUR forces at work with your flying machine. Gravity is always pulling it down, but air keeps it up (lift). The way airplane wings generate lift is by having a curved surface on the top which decreases the sir pressure, and since higher pressure pushes, the wing generates lift by moving through the air. But what about a flat wing?
If you drop a regular sheet of paper, it flutters to the ground. If you wad it up first, you’ll find it falls much faster. The air under the falling paper needs to get out of the way as gravity pulls the paper, which is a lot easier when the paper is wadded into a ball. For a flat wing (like on a paper airplane) to glide through the air, it needs to be balanced between gravity and the air resistance holding it up. In order for a glider to fly, the center of pressure needs to be behind the center of gravity. By adding paper clips to your paper airplane, you move the center of gravity and center of pressure around to find the perfect balance.
When we use math to add up the forces (the pull of gravity would be the weight, for example), it works out that there isn’t enough lift generated by thrust to overcome the weight and drag. When I say, “mathematically speaking…” I mean that the numbers don’t work out quite right. When this happens in science for real scientists, it usually means that they don’t fully understand something yet. There are a number of ‘unsolved’ mysteries still in science.. maybe you’ll be able to help us figure them out?