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Kite

A kite is a tethered aircraft. The necessary lift that makes the kite wing fly is generated when air (or in some cases water) flows over and under the kite's wing, producing low pressure above the wing and high pressure below it. This deflection also generates horizontal drag along the direction of the wind. The resultant force vector from the lift and drag force components is opposed by the tension of the one or more lines or tethers. The anchor point of the kite line may be static or moving (e.g., the towing of a kite by a running person, boat, free-falling anchors as in paragliders and fugitive parakites or vehicle).

Kites are usually heavier-than-air, but there is a second category of lighter-than-air kite called a kytoon which may be filled with hydrogen, hot air, methane, or helium; these stay aloft with or without wind; at calm they float; at wind they receive lift from buoyancy and aerodynamic lift. Kytoons have been made in toy-scale as well as military large scale.

Kites may be flown for recreation, art or other practical uses. Sport kites can be flown in aerial ballet, sometimes as part of a competition. Power kites are multi-line steerable kites designed to generate large forces which can be used to power activities such as kite surfing, kite landboarding, kite fishing, kite buggying and a new trend snow kiting. Kites towed behind boats can lift passengers which has had useful military applications in the past.

For more information about Kite, read the full article at Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.

Ancient walls reveal evidence of mass gazelle slaughters

(PhysOrg.com) -- A report published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences details the proof found that "desert kites" were used as slaughter structures for civilizations as long as 6,000 years ...

Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils

created Apr 19, 2011 | popularity 4.7 / 5 (7) | comments 4 | with audio podcast report

Want to save fuel? Fly a kite, German inventor says

The blue-hulled vessel would slip by unnoticed on most seas if not for the white kite, high above her prow, towing her to what its creators hope will be a bright, wind-efficient future.

Technology / Hi Tech & Innovation

created Apr 15, 2011 | popularity 4 / 5 (4) | comments 2

Fiercest birds make the best home decorators

You might raise your eyebrows at their choice of material, but you wouldn't want to pick a fight with a black kite whose nest is adorned in white plastic, Spanish researchers said Thursday.

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Jan 20, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 10

Toy Makes Gathering Wind Data A Breeze

Meteorologists have developed a portable new tool for measuring atmospheric wind speeds by tethering kites to ground-based metering systems.

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

created Aug 18, 2010 | popularity 5 / 5 (4) | comments 0

Sensing wind speed with kites

Kites have a storied history in meteorological research -- think of Benjamin Franklin and his study of electricity -- including being used to carry aloft sensors that measure wind speed. Previously, however, these sensors, ...

Physics / General Physics

created Jul 28, 2010 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (2) | comments 0

Weather kite gets second wind

The red kite is now a commonly-seen bird of prey in the skies of the south-east, but a specially designed artificial blue kite promises a new way to make weather measurements.

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

created Jul 23, 2010 | popularity 4 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Kites flying in high-altitude winds could provide clean electricity

(PhysOrg.com) -- At any moment, the winds in high-altitude jet streams hold roughly 100 times more energy than all the electricity being consumed on Earth, according to a study by Stanford environmental and ...

Technology / Energy & Green Tech

created Jun 24, 2009 | popularity 4.6 / 5 (44) | comments 29