Lift Doesn't Suck (It blows)

[Pink4Life]

I'm scared! I'm worried about a paper I have here ( It's also my first post so yea ). I think it's okay at best. I'm looking for critiques on wording, the science, and pretty much everything. Comes with Works cited too! And i think my conclusion is TERRIBLE, so yea. Also Intro might need work, but yea. And Maybe a cooler title, like my post name. ( Keep in mind this is a High School Paper D:)

 

Forcing Flight

Since the beginning of man’s existence, we have been fascinated by creatures of flight, creatures that can overcome the force produced by an object 7927 miles in diameter! Through fierce determination and human ingenuity, we have created fascinating technology to move through the skies. However, flight is still a relatively new invention, having only been conceived a century ago, and many people are still ignorant to the physics of one of humankind’s greatest inventions. The goal of this paper is to make you familiar with the forces that act upon an object during flight, one principle of lift, and show how the object affects the forces acting upon it during flight.

The 1st item we must understand is where flight can occur. Flight can occur only in a fluid, which according to Merriam-Webster is “a substance (as a liquid or gas) tending to flow or conform to the outline of its container”. In order for something to be in flight, it must be moving through a fluid with no support from the ground, whether that is on our planet or in Space itself! Understanding the definition of flight allows us to better understand the forces that are active during flight. The 2nd item is defining the major forces that affect flight. There are four major forces that act upon an object during flight. Those forces are; thrust, drag, gravity, and lift.

 

 

 

Firstly, thrust. Thrust is the force that actively pushes against drag. Thrust is the force that allows for forward acceleration. Thrust’s strength is controlled by the wings on the object or the engine. Propellers and the flapping of wings on birds also produce thrust. The amount of thrust is also determined by the strength of drag (Hutchinson). Secondly, drag is the force that opposes thrust. Drag is generated by more “natural” factors, such as; the density of the fluid, direction, speed, surface ratio of the flying object, and the velocity of the fluid. An example of drag would be air resistance (Hutchinson). The third force that affects flight is gravity. Gravity is always constant and only affects lift, pulling the object down. So long as lift is greater than or equal to gravity, flight can occur (Adkins). The last force that acts upon the object is lift. While gravity, drag, and thrust are relatively easy concepts to understand, lift is more complex. Lift is the force that pulls the object upward. Some factors that affect lift are; the surface ratio of the base of the wing, the velocity of the object, the velocity and density of the fluid, and angle of attack (Godwin). Lift can only be attained by pressure differences around the airfoil. An airfoil is a word used to term the shape of the wing on an object. A greater amount of pressure must be below the wing, while lower pressure must be above in order for lift to be obtained (Godwin). This imbalance of pressure forces air from below the plane to move upwards, since areas of high pressure actively move to areas of low pressure. When the fluid below moves upward, it pushes the wings up and the plane they are attached too (Long)! Lift itself is a hotly debated topic among the scientific community. While there are different theories on lift, this paper will engage one derived from a principle by Daniel Bernoulli (Benson).

 

 

The physicist Bernoulli makes the argument that fluids’ pressure is directly related to its speed, saying that “When the speed of a fluid increases, the pressure drops” (Hewitt 300). This can also work in vice-versa, that as pressure drops, fluid’s speed increases. Now while this might be a nifty principle, you might be wondering how this even applies to flight. The main idea we must gain from Bernoulli is that fluids lose pressure as their speed increases, and that pressure differences is key to flight. So, applying what we now know about fluid pressure, we can now make this statement. The fluid above the wing must be traveling faster than the fluid below in order for a pressure difference to exist. As stated in the 1st body paragraph, higher pressure areas move to lower pressure areas and that movement cause’s lift. So in order for lift to occur, the plane must be in control of the pressure differences around the airfoil. Understanding this allows us to move onto the next section of this paper.

 

 

 

 

Which parts of the plane affect each of the four forces. Firstly, thrust is a controlled by the power of the propeller, engine, or how strongly the wings flap on a bird. For propellers and engines, the revolution per minute governs how much thrust is produced (Godwin). The propellers and engines on planes pull the fluid through them, which in turn produces an equal and opposite force, pushing the plane forward (Adkins). Which means that the more fluid that is pulled threw, the more thrust is produces. Secondly, drag is increased by variables such as Angle of Attack, which is the angle at which the airfoil hits the fluid. Other factors include; however large the load is on the object and the landing gear (Godwin). Thirdly, the amount of lift can be controlled by Angle of Attack. Angle of Attack is the plane’s direct control over the imbalances of pressure around the airfoil. Greater Angle of Attack produces higher pressure underneath the base while lower Angle of Attack produces less. The reasoning behind this madness is that as the Angle of Attack increase, the fluid that travels above hugs the top. This causes a loss in pressure, and according to Bernoulli, an increase in speed. The opposite happens underneath. Fluids traveling underneath do not hug the bottom of the airfoil. In fact, the fluid pushes away, and this causes more pressure (Bloomfield). See Bernoulli! However, this does have a limit point. Lift begins to drop exponentially if the Angle of Attack climbs over 17% (U.S. Centennial). Fourth is gravity, which is constant. Every object on Earth is under the influence of gravity at all times. For an object to obtain flight, gravity must be overcome. A large amount of lift, as well as a lightweight structure, is essential for an object to overcome gravity. It should be noted that in order for successful ascent in a plane, thrust and lift must overcome drag and gravity respectively. Level flight requires all the forces be equal (Adkins).

 

 

 

The four major forces, as well as Bernoulli’s principle, must all be accounted for and controlled in order for flight to occur. Each one must be manipulated, reduced, and even overcome in order to attain flight. Understanding these forces and principles can spur new ideas and greater understanding in a still relatively new area of science.

 

Double Post! Fitting this Works Cited in too!

Works Cited

Hewitt, Paul G. “Conceptual Physics”. Boston, Massachusetts: Pearson Prentice Hall.

 

“Dictionary and Thesaurus – Merriam-Webster”. 2008. Merriam-Webster Incorporated. November 30, 2008 <http://www.merriam-webster.com/>.

 

“Physics of Flight”. Smith, Dave. January 11, 1996. September 29, 2005. University of California Museum of Paleontology. November 30, 2008 <http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/vertebrates/flight/physics.html>.

 

“The Physics of Flight”. Godwin, Duane. February 28, 2002. November 30, 2008 <http://www.furball.warbirdsiii.com/krod/basic-physics.html>.

 

“Angle of Attack”. 2006. U.S. Centennial of Flight Commission. November 30, 2008 <http://www.centennialofflight.gov/essay/Dictionary/angle_of_attack/

DI5.htm>.

 

“Lift Doesn’t Suck”. Long, Roger. September 28, 1999. November 29, 2008 <http://www.avweb.com/news/airman/183261-1.html>.

 

“How Airplanes Work”. Adkins, Brian. November 13, 2000. November 30, 2008 <http://science.howstuffworks.com/airplane1.htm>.

 

”Bernoulli and Newton: Benson, Tom. NASA. November 30, 2008 <http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/K-12/airplane/bernnew.html>.

 

“How Things Work”. Bloomfield, Louis. December 2, 2008. December 2, 2008 <http://howthingswork.virginia.edu/> .

 

Double Post merging! Epic!

Edited December 3, 2008 by Pink4Life
multiple post merged

[David M.]

Hey i am in eigth grade but when i copied and pasted you work on to microsfot word this is what i got for the grade.

 

Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level 7.9

So i like the paper but microsft dosent agree. also i can understand this really easily so i need to know what grade this is written for simple answer.

Freshman

Softmore

Junior

Senior

ONe of those let me know and i can tell exactly what you need.