Without the aerodynamic forces of lift and drag, aircraft would be unable to fly, wind turbines would not spin, and countless other machines that we depend on every day would not work. What, exactly, ...

We’ve probably all experimented with a very clear demonstration of the basic principles of lift: if you’re riding in a car and you put your flattened hand out the window at different angles, your hand ...

Qiqi Wang (MIT), Rui Hu (MIT) and Antony Jameson (Stanford) have shown through a computer model that a modified biplane can, in fact, produce significantly less drag than a conventional single-wing ...

Airplane flight is one of the most significant technological achievements of the 20th century. The invention of the airplane allows people to travel from one side of the planet to the other in less ...

A team of evolutionary biologists and engineers have demonstrated a new structure inspired by shark skin that could improve the aerodynamic performance of planes, wind turbines, drones, and cars. The ...

When the Wright brothers, Orville and Wilbur, made their historic first flight in 1903, they revolutionized how humans would traverse the world. Their biplane, "The Flyer," stayed in the air for only ...

In the team's new approach, the whole shape of the wing can be changed, and twisted uniformly along its length, by activating two small motors that apply a twisting pressure to each wingtip. Kenneth ...