Physics in Aircrafts Essay

Airplanes are massive and very complex pieces of machinery, and they help us get to places more efficiently and cheaper than traditional ways. Although we have seen that if

Well you may be thinking-- what exactly is flight? Thomas Campbell Foster says, in his book How to Read Literature like a Professor: A Guide to Reading between the Lines, that in general flying is freedom (Foster 134). It can be freedom and/or escape from general burdens, life on earth, and specific situations, or it can symbolize

When the 20th century began, no human being had ever flown in a powered aircraft. By the end of the century though, Flying had become a common thing for millions of people, And some of us even flew through space and visited another planet. Today, it is farely common to take a flight anywhere in the world, something people only 100 years ago couldnt fathom.

Since the beginning of aviation, aircraft have been used for other intentions besides carrying passengers and cargo. They have been used as weapons of war dating all the way back to the first world war, and the use of aircraft has enlightened the advancement of the aviation. “Throughout the history of aviation, the greatest progress in flight has been made during time when either war or the threat of war was present” (Millspaugh, et al., 2008, p. 33). However, the war we face today has been triggered by the deliberate use of aircraft to cause death, destruction, and mayhem.

The objective of this exercise is to measure the pressure distribution across the surface on an aerofoil in a wind tunnel. The aerofoil is tested under several different Mach numbers from subsonic to supercritical. The purpose of measuring the pressure distributions is to assess the validity of the Prandtl-Glauert law and to discuss the changing chracteristics of the flow as the Mach number increases from subsonic to transonic.

Once an object is in the air its flight path is governed prior to its release. There

Major Ted Tolman’s F-105 Thud fighter/bomber streaked through the air at just under the speed of sound. His aircraft performed modestly at best, struggling to maintain its speed and altitude under the heavy load of ordinance and fuel it carried under its wings (Patrick).

Ever since I was little I was amazed at the ability for a machine to fly. I have always wanted to explore ideas of flight and be able to actually fly. I think I may have found my childhood fantasy in the world of aeronautical engineering. The object of my paper is to give me more insight on my future career as an aeronautical engineer. This paper was also to give me ideas of the physics of flight and be to apply those physics of flight to compete in a high school competition.

“The airplane stays up because it doesn’t have the time to fall” (Wrights Brothers). One of the unique quality/ characteristic that differentiate aircraft from all other vehicles is its ability to get up in the air and stay for a long period of time. The force that raises an object into the air is called lift. The force that acts against this lift force is called weight. The left principle states that in order for an object to be lifted off the ground, the weight of that object should be less than the air surrounding it. Now you might be asking, why is it that aircraft which is heavier than car fly but car don’t? The answer to this question lies within the engineering of an aircraft. An aircraft has something

The movement of millions of passengers over distances thought impossible decades ago is symbolic of the modern air transportation era that is characterized by speed, comfort and personal convenience. The commerce of aviation, both the operation of commercial aircraft for profit and the development of aeronautical systems, is also an important symbol of national prestige and a powerful economic force. Safety in air transportation is therefore a matter of significant national importance.

We have all seen commercial airplanes as huge and grand. From the very first time we laid our eyes on them, a childish dream of knowing what's inside airplanes seemed inevitable.

Lift is one of the most contested components of airplane flight. There are different theories in how an airplane reacts to air being rushed over its wings. In all actuality the entire airplane promotes lift. Often it is forgotten how the top portion of the airplane and wing plays just as an important role in creating lift as the bottom of the airplane and wing. As stated in How Airplanes Fly “Lift is the force that directly opposes the weight of an airplane and holds the airplane in the air” (Eberhardt). Lift must overcome or be equal to the weight of the airplane (Eichenberger). Lift is produced as the air flows over the body and wings of the airplane as it is moving forward. The wings help to develop most of the lift due to their design. They come in different shapes and sizes, from short wings to very long wings, even a propeller of a helicopter is considered a wing. No matter what size or shape, wings are designed to create lift. According to Newton’s third law, for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. This means the lift of a wing is equal to the change in momentum of the air it is diverting downward (Eberhardt). Pilots have controls to increase the size of the wing while the airplane is flying, thus increasing lift and helping to keep the airplane flying at slower speeds.

Admittedly, aircrafts have made valuable contributions to the field of transportation. From childhood, I have been genuinely captivated by the intricate engineering behind the design of space crafts, space shuttles and airplanes. Aerospace engineers often encounter a set of unique challenges as they apply mathematical and scientific knowledge to design and build such novel inventions. Of all the A-level subjects, Physics and Mathematics have always been my best suits. In essence, Physics relates physical phenomena using simplified formulas and theories while Mathematics provides the basis of solving complex problems. In particular, I learnt and appreciated how to relate theory to calculations while studying Mathematics at A-level in the mechanics module. When combined, the A-level science subjects have offered me valuable insights into the field of aerospace engineering.

The wings of an airplane are the most important part that makes it fly. The wings actually hold the plane in the air, otherwise the plane would

Since the beginning of recorded history, humans have always had a fascination with flight. Now that we live in a world where boarding an airplane and flying across the country – or even the world - is simply a part of everyday life, the wonder of flight has diminished for many. Despite this, physics students from all around continue to delight in the many physical forces that play a part in keeping these huge objects (like jumbo jets) from falling out of the sky!