Law of physics governs airplane evolution

Researchers believe they now know why the supersonic trans-Atlantic Concorde aircraft went the way of the dodo—it hit an evolutionary cul-de-sac.

Puffin: the one-person electric aircraft (w/ Video)

(PhysOrg.com) -- NASA engineers have designed an extremely quiet one-person electrically powered aircraft that can hover like a helicopter and fly like a plane. The “Puffin” launches from an upright position with the ...

Aerodynamics of perching birds could inform aircraft design

If you have ever watched a bird land on a tree branch, you may have noticed that it rapidly pitches its wings upward at a high angle to execute a smooth landing. However, for some birds, they land by folding their wings as ...

Using marinated eggs to demonstrate diffusion

Marinated, or pickled, eggs are enjoyed by cultures around the world. There are Pennsylvania Dutch red-beet pickled eggs, German-style ones with a heavy dose of mustard, and Asian recipes that use rice vinegar and soy sauce, ...

High-tech bird watching for shapeshifting airplane wings

An international team of engineers and biologists will gain unprecedented insights into how birds fly so efficiently and then turn that knowledge to building unmanned aircraft with shapeshifting wings.

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