Abstract
We have explored the early days of flight and other aspects of aviation. We have also examined properties of fluids and the behavior of fluids at rest and in motion—the field of fluid mechanics. The atmosphere, the medium in which airplanes fly, has also been discussed. With this background, we can now turn to aerodynamics, the study of the forces acting on all objects moving in a fluid. Natural and man-made objects are included; from fish to submarines, from birds to aircraft, all are subject to the same laws of aerodynamics.
The success of any physical investigation depends on the judicious selection of what is to be observed as of primary importance, combined with a voluntary abstraction of the mind from those features which, however attractive they may appear, we are not yet sufficiently advanced in science to investigate with profit.
James Clerk Maxwell (1831–79)
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© 1997 Springer-Verlag New York, Inc.
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Wegener, P.P. (1997). Turning to Aerodynamics. In: What Makes Airplanes Fly?. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-2254-5_6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-2254-5_6
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-1-4612-7474-2
Online ISBN: 978-1-4612-2254-5
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