4/12/2019 What Is Aerodynamics?

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What Is Aerodynamics?
8 years ago
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(/audience/forstudents/k-4/stories/nasa-
knows/index.html) series.
Aerodynamics is the way air moves around things.
The rules of aerodynamics explain how an airplane is
able to fly. Anything that moves through air reacts to
aerodynamics. A rocket blasting off the launch pad
and a kite in the sky react to aerodynamics.
Aerodynamics even acts on cars, since air flows
around cars.

What Are the Four Forces of Flight?

The four forces of flight are lift, weight, thrust and
drag. These forces make an object move up and
down, and faster or slower. How much of each force
there is changes how the object moves through the
air.

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Weight comes from gravity pulling down on objects.
Credits: NASA

What Is Weight?
Everything on Earth has weight. This force comes
from gravity pulling down on objects. To fly, an aircraft
needs something to push it in the opposite direction
from gravity. The weight of an object controls how
strong the push has to be. A kite needs a lot less
upward push than a jumbo jet does.

What Is Lift?
Lift is the push that lets something move up. It is the
force that is the opposite of weight. Everything that
flies must have lift. For an aircraft to move upward, it
must have more lift than weight. A hot air balloon has
lift because the hot air inside is lighter than the air
around it. Hot air rises and carries the balloon with it.
A helicopter's lift comes from the rotor blades at the
top of the helicopter. Their motion through the air
moves the helicopter upward. Lift for an airplane
comes from its wings.

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An airfoil shape is especially good at producing lift.
Credits: NASA

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How Do an Airplane's Wings Provide Lift?

The shape of an airplane's wings is what makes it
able to fly. Airplanes' wings are curved on top and
flatter on the bottom. That shape makes air flow over
the top faster than under the bottom. So, less air
pressure is on top of the wing. This condition makes
the wing, and the airplane it's attached to, move up.
Using curves to change air pressure is a trick used on
many aircraft. Helicopter rotor blades use this trick.
Lift for kites also comes from a curved shape. Even
sailboats use this concept. A boat's sail is like a wing.
That's what makes the sailboat move.

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As an object moves through the air, it pushes aside air molecules.
Credits: NASA

What Is Drag?
Drag is a force that tries to slow something down. It
makes it hard for an object to move. It is harder to
walk or run through water than through air. That is
because water causes more drag than air. The shape
of an object also changes the amount of drag. Most
round surfaces have less drag than flat ones. Narrow
surfaces usually have less drag than wide ones. The
more air that hits a surface, the more drag it makes.

What Is Thrust?
Thrust is the force that is the opposite of drag. Thrust
is the push that moves something forward. For an
aircraft to keep moving forward, it must have more
thrust than drag. A small airplane might get its thrust
from a propeller. A larger airplane might get its thrust
from jet engines. A glider does not have thrust. It can
only fly until the drag causes it to slow down and land.

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Thrust is the force that moves an aircraft forward.

Credits: NASA

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