The Physics of Boomerangs Essay - 1379 Words

The Physics of Boomerangs The successful flight of a boomerang looks as though it never should happen. Its more or less circular flight path comes from the interaction of two physical phenomena: the aerodynamic lift of the arms of the boomerang and the spinning boomerang’s maintenance of angular momentum. Briefly put, the airfoil at the boomerang’s forward rotating edge provides more lift than its rearward rotating edge. This elevates one side of the boomerang. The spinning object maintains angular momentum by turning at a right angle to its axis of rotation. When the spin and the velocity of boomerang are just right, it flies away and returns in an aesthetically satisfying circle. The boomerang’s distinctive flight starts with†¦show more content†¦But when a fluid encounters an obstruction in an open situation--a current in a river hitting a stick or an airfoil in the air--the same general rule applies. As the fluid accelerates around an object, its pressure decreases. If an airfoil is moving through the air, then the air accelerates as it goes over it. If the air foil were symmetrical, the air pressure would drop on both sides and the foil would have no net force acting on it. But if one side of a foil were curved and the other flat, then the pressure on the curved side would be less and the foil would be drawn in the direction of the lower air pressure (or the higher pressure on the flat side would push the foil in the direction of the curved side). For example, when rules allow, race cars have an upside down foil along their bottoms to increase down force and with it, their cornering ability. Much more commonly, airplane wings and helicopter rotors use the curved foil to create low pressure areas on their top sides to allow the higher pressure under the wing/rotor to push the wing/rotor upward. The introductory chapter of John Allen’s Aerodynamics: The Science of Air in Motion describes a complex interaction between the object the the air in motion around it. He explains that theShow MoreRelatedPhysics of Boomerangs638 Words   |  3 PagesBoomerangs are one of the first throwing machines invented by humans. Boomerangs first developed as an improvement of the carved throwing sticks. Usually made of wood and they were banana shaped; both arms were carved into curved surfaces. Typically 3 ft long and weighing 5-10 lbs. they were effective hunting tools. When thrown, boomerangs traveled parallel to the ground as far as 650 ft The physics of a Boomerang can be broken down into three simple reasons: 1. A boomerang has 2 arms or wings, similarRead MoreCompare And Contrast Batman Of Dc And Iron Man925 Words   |  4 Pagesintellect and enormous amounts of money to create technology for their powers. 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Subcategories for the wooden roller coasters are the outback, wooden twister, terrain, M oebis, racing, dueling, looping, andRead MoreAnalysis Of The Unconstitutional 40 Year War On Students Essay1641 Words   |  7 Pagesstimulus will elicit some sort of response. Similarly, Isaac Newton taught us that one force provokes another, in direct opposition to it. Although various life experience may â€Å"elicit† a response, our emotions tend to gravitate towards the laws of physics rather than biology. It may seem counterintuitive, but the pressure of provocation is arguably the best method of impelling us to act. Adversity, after all, stimulates, coerces, and sharpens people in ways that prosperity simply cannot. Indeed, itRead More beach erosion Essay examples3156 Words   |  13 Pagespermeable they are, the more energy will dissipate before it reaches landward development or natural resources.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;. Simple solutions boomerang Cities like Miami Beach that built ri ght up to the bluffs above the beach soon noticed that the bluffs were eroding, bringing the ocean a bit too close for comfort. The city responded by reinforcing the bluffs with sea walls. But the walls reflectedRead MoreInnovators Dna84615 Words   |  339 Pagessister â€Å"thinking big thoughts†; she played girls’ cricket avidly and was lead guitarist in an all-girl rock band (it’s no surprise that she still performs on stage at PepsiCo events). She ï ¬ nished a multidisciplinary undergraduate degree in chemistry, physics, and math before getting her MBA in Calcutta. Nooyi then worked in the textile industry (Tootal) and consumer products industry (Johnson Johnson) before getting a master’s of public and private management at Yale. After graduation, she shiftedRead MoreDeveloping Management Skills404131 Words   |  1617 Pagesgraphics say that by viewing images instead of numbers, a fundamental change in the way researchers think and work is occurring. People have a lot easier time getting an intuition from pictures than they do from numbers and tables or formulas. In most physics experiments, the answer used to be a number or a string of numbers. In the last few years the answer has increasingly become a picture† (Markoff, 1988, p. D3). To illustrate the differences among thinking languages, consider the following simple problem: