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1/21/2017 IncorrectLiftTheory

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Therearemanytheoriesofhowliftisgenerated.Unfortunately,manyofthetheoriesfoundinencyclopedias,onwebsites,
andeveninsometextbooksareincorrect,causingunnecessaryconfusionforstudents.

Thetheorydescribedonthisslideisoftenseenonwebsitesandinpopularliterature.Thetheoryisbasedontheideathat
liftisthereactionforcetoairmoleculesstrikingthebottomoftheairfoilasitmovesthroughtheair.Becausethisissimilar
tothewayinwhichaflatrockthrownatashallowangleskipsacrossabodyofwater,itiscalledthe"SkippingStone"
theoryoflift.ItissometimescalledaNewtoniantheoryoflift,sinceitinvolvesNewton'sthirdlaw,buttoavoidconfusion
withthecorrectNewtoniantheoryofflowturning,weshallcallitthe"SkippingStone"theory.

Beforeconsideringwhatiswrongwiththistheory,let'sinvestigatetheactualflowaroundanairfoilbydoinganexperiment
usingaJavasimulatorwhichissolvingthecorrectflowequations.Belowthesimulatorisatextboxwithinstructions.Be
surethatthesliderontherightofthetextboxispulledtothetoptobegintheexperiments

DuetoITsecurityconcerns,manyusersarecurrentlyexperiencingproblemsrunningNASAGlenneducationalapplets.
Therearesecuritysettingsthatyoucanadjustthatmaycorrectthisproblem.

Let'susetheinformationwe'vejustlearnedtoevaluatethe"SkippingStone"Theory.

Thistheoryisconcernedwithonlytheinteractionofthelowersurfaceofthemovingobjectandtheair.Itassumes
thatalloftheflowturning(andthereforeallthelift)isproducedbythelowersurface.Butaswehaveseeninour
experiment,theuppersurfacealsoturnstheflow.Infact,whenoneconsidersthedownwashproducedbyalifting
airfoil,theuppersurfacecontributesmoreflowturningthanthelowersurface.Thistheorydoesnotpredictorexplain
thiseffect.
Becausethistheoryneglectstheaction<>reactionofmoleculesstrikingtheuppersurface,itdoesnotpredictthe
negativeliftpresentinourexperimentwhentheangleofattackisnegative.Onthetopoftheairfoil,novacuum
exists.Moleculesarestillinconstantrandommotionontheuppersurface(aswellasthelowersurface),andthese
moleculesstrikethesurfaceandimpartmomentumtotheairfoilaswell.
Theupperairfoilsurfacedoesn'tenterintothetheoryatall.Sousingthistheory,wewouldexpecttwoairfoilswith
thesamelowersurfacebutverydifferentuppersurfacestogivethesamelift.Weknowthisdoesn'toccurinreality.
Infact,therearedevicesonmanyairlinerscalledspoilerswhicharesmallplatesontheuppersurface,betweenthe

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1/21/2017 IncorrectLiftTheory
leadingandtrailingedges.Theyareusedtochangetheliftofthewingtomaneuvertheaircraftbydisruptingtheflow
overtheuppersurface.Thistheorydoesnotpredictorexplainthiseffect.
Ifwemakeliftpredictionsbasedonthistheory,usingaknowledgeofairdensityandthenumberofmoleculesina
givenvolumeofair,thepredictionsaretotallyinaccuratewhencomparedtoactualmeasurements.Thechief
problemwiththetheoryisthatitneglectsthephysicalpropertiesofthefluid.Liftiscreatedbyturningamoving
fluid,andallpartsofthesolidobjectcandeflectthefluid.

Youcandownloadyourowncopyoftheprogramtorunofflinebyclickingonthisbutton:

BUT.....thistheoryisnottotallyinaccurate.Incertainflightregimes,wherethevelocityisveryhighandthedensityisvery
low,fewmoleculescanstriketheupperairfoilsurfaceandtheNewtoniantheorygivesveryaccuratepredictions.Theseare
theconditionswhichoccurontheSpaceShuttleduringtheearlyphasesofitsreentryintotheEarth'satmosphereat
altitudesaboveabout50milesandatvelocitiesabove10,000mph(hypersonicconditions).Fortheseflightconditions,the
theorygivesagoodprediction.However,formostnormalflightconditions,likethoseonanairliner(35,000feet,500mph),
thistheorydoesnotgivetherightanswer.

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