How does a bird fly?

It is very interesting to observe the flight of a bird. It is especially interesting when you are standing on the stern of a moving ship, and at that time seagulls are following him after him. Some of them quickly wave their wings, and some calmly and gracefully maneuver in air currents. What allows them to do such incredible tricks for a person? Let's try to figure it out.

The principle of flying birds

How does a bird fly? First of all, it is necessary to understand that there are two ways of bird flight - waving and planning. About each in order:

Flight mode

To understand the principles of the wing of a birdwill have to remember the school course of aerodynamics. The basic postulates of this science are: to generate a lift under the wing of an aircraft, there is a significant difference between the air pressure above the wing and under the wing. The denser the air under the wing, the faster and higher the plane rises into the sky.

Why are we talking about an airplane? The fact is that a person often constructs his inventions, starting from the world around him. The example with the plane perfectly reflects the working principle of the bird's wings. Such a flight is called planning: the bird simply hangs in the air, using the force of the wind to move in the right direction. To lift up the rear surface of the wing falls to the ground, and to reduce, on the contrary, it rises. Maybe you noticed that the seagulls fold their wings at the moment of high-speed fall.

Flight mode of flight

This method of bird's flight science is trying to solve to this day. It is known that the energy efficiency of bird flight is ten times higher than the efficiency of any aircraft. How is this possible?

At first glance, it is obvious - waving movementsThe wings, if properly positioned, should move the bird forward. However, scientists noticed an important detail. In terms of physics, the angle of rotation of the wing of the bird must constantly change to achieve a straight-line flight horizontally - in other words, only forward. Otherwise we will observe either movement of the bird to the earth along an arc (parabolic trajectory), or the same movement upward. However, this in no way describes the real flight of an ordinary bird! And the angle of rotation of its wing does not change.

For a long time, this problem could not be solved until a curious theory appeared.

According to the creators of the theory, which,to become a clue to the balanced flight of the bird, the matter in the physiological features of the wing. The wing and feathers of the bird are very flexible at the edges. With active waving motion, the pen end moves to the opposite side of the main movement. For example, when the wing moves down the end of its feathers move upward. The aerodynamic properties of the wing naturally change, which leads to a uniform forward motion horizontally. The flexible structure of the wings and feathers allows the birds to fly forward without falling down or climbing upward.

Why does not the airplane fly like a bird?

To date, science, realizing the featuresstructure feathered, until able to reproduce this. Such engines and materials have not yet been created, which would ensure a uniform flight with a waving method. To admit, it also is not necessary. The current aircraft are very successful in dealing with the flight of jet propulsion.

However, the research of scientists in this direction is notterminate. As we have already noted above, the efficiency of a bird's flight exceeds many times the same technical indicator. So, by studying the principles of bird flight, you can try to reduce the energy costs of the aircraft and increase its cargo capacity, flight range and other indicators.

Those who are interested in learning more about the peculiarities of the bird's flight, we recommend that you read this article.