MIT and NASA engineers demonstrate a new kind of airplane wing

Instead of requiring separate movable surfaces such as ailerons to control the roll and pitch of the plane, as conventional wings do, the new assembly system makes it possible to deform the whole wing, or parts of it, by incorporating a mix of stiff and flexible components in its structure. The tiny subassemblies, which are bolted together to form an open, lightweight lattice framework, are then covered with a thin layer of similar polymer material as the framework.

The result is a wing that is much lighter... than those with conventional designs, whether made from metal or composites, the researchers say. Because the structure, comprising thousands of tiny triangles of matchstick-like struts, is composed mostly of empty space, it forms a mechanical "metamaterial" that combines the structural stiffness of a rubber-like polymer and the extreme lightness and low density of an aerogel.

Jenett explains that for each of the phases of a flight—takeoff and landing, cruising, maneuvering and so on—each has its own, different set of optimal wing parameters, so a conventional wing is necessarily a compromise that is not optimized for any of these, and therefore sacrifices efficiency. A wing that is constantly deformable could provide a much better approximation of the best configuration for each stage.

While it would be possible to include motors and cables to produce the forces needed to deform the wings, the team has taken this a step further and designed a system that automatically responds to changes in its aerodynamic loading conditions by shifting its shape—a sort of self-adjusting, passive wing-reconfiguration process.

This is all accomplished by the careful design of the relative positions of struts with different amounts of flexibility or stiffness, designed so that the wing, or sections of it, bend in specific ways in response to particular kinds of stresses.

The thread topic - learning a new way to fly - is a subject particularly close to my heart, so don't mind me for going a little "out there" on the spiritual plane.

We should be careful how important we think our own abilities really are. God probably is getting a chuckle about what he sees.

Some may choose to conflate levity with a rejection or disrespect of reality and proper behavior, but truth is the opposite.

The Saturn V rockets that delivered man to the Moon did not defy gravity; they escaped the usual effects of gravity. (levity: the name of a force or property of physical bodies, the opposite of gravity, causing them to tend to rise.)

In order to develop the technology, the engineers observed, studied, acknowledged and accepted all the relevant laws of the natural world that kept man confined to terra firma. Only then could they discover the secret to putting a man on the moon and returning him safely to earth. They had to diligently guard and observe and then steadfastly work within all the established rules in order to transcend them.

There was no room to decide that certains laws of physics didn't matter. The Torah serves as a grand metaphor for every God-given law, a living parable where the parable is the literal meaning. Look what happens when "the rules don't apply to me" types make a habit of doing stupid and/or corrupt things. Extreme dysfunction. People get hurt. People die.

So, what about the ComDem know it alls in US government? Who daily thumb their nose at the very concept of God.
Who will get the laugh on that?

Those intent on creating their own reality discover sooner or later that God's world doesn't function by making things up. Everything starts with the foundation that He set in place.

In spite of (or on account of) Tiny Tim's obvious wiring issues [for which he was greatly mocked and exploited - I'll leave it at that], he sang a sweet, inspiring song about the Man on the Moon.

Here are the lyrics for those who avoid Youtube:

Me And The Man On The Moon

Years ago they said I'd never make it
They tried to stick a pin in my balloon
They said I was too strange
That my dreams were all in vain
But they said the same about
Man on the moon

I knocked on doors and
I sang my songs and
Each day they'd say "Hey go away
And don't come back"
But I crusaded
Until I made it
Nothing's impossible if you try

So have your dream
Go on and sing your song
There's nothing wrong
With singing out of tune

If people laugh
And say your dream can never be
Just think of me
And man on the moon

And just a while back
You'd be a bit cracked
If you would talk about
A walk out on the moon
And who'd believe it
We finally reached it
Nothing's impossible if you try

So have your dream
Go on and sing your song
There's nothing wrong
With singing out of tune

If people laugh
And say your dream can never be
Just think of me
And man on the moon

***

The brothers were determined to be rid of that obnoxious Dreamer Joseph, but the proper functioning of the universe did not allow for that option. Joseph *is* the righteous foundation of the world.

"We shall see what will become of his dreams."

Look on the face(s) of the moon. There are two men looking down, a larger man and a smaller one. They share a left eye. The larger man looks utterly shocked, but the little man is smiling:

Beresheet is headed for a landing on the mare that is the little man's right eye, which is the space between the eyes of the larger man. His "third eye" so to speak, the place of insight because...

God's a funny guy. Jews in Space, it's the History of the World! Back to the beginning, square one. Smack between the eyes. Facepalm. You can't make this stuff up. :)

The 50th anniversary is almost here.

That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.

Everyone already knows that laughter (as opposed to mocking) is the best medicine. It heals people right up. How does that work? It puts everyone in stitches. See, it really is the simple meaning! ;)

(I have a dream. It has to do with those twins looking down from the moon, because when the Torah scroll is made into a big circle, it says, "All Israel in the beginning.")

Thank you.

I remember well that night in July of 1969 for a personal reason. Not important here. That date will soon be 50 years ago.

Later I actually got to know one of the Apollo 14 crew who walked on the moon and rode in the rover. wife was friends with his mother, they were friends from church.

Even later my in-laws were good friends with The parents of Commander Rick Husband of the Shuttle Columbia, that was lost with all aboard. The Husbands lived across the street from my in-laws.

I wished I could tell you all the amazing people I’ve know and the totally unexplained meeting of many of them. Nothing I did could have possible caused those connections.

When I try to tell people about them, they think I’m crazy. (or don’t believe me) But it changes nothing. My wife and I always marveled about it. (lost her in December)

Is God through with me? Probably not, I’m still here.

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