A whale of a tale - Humpback flipper may be the key to better wind turbines.

The Toronto Star ^ | May 14, 2007 | Tyler Hamilton

[Reaganesque]

This particular article is nearly a year old but I became aware of this story via an article at Gizmag.com that was published on 3/21. Interesting stuff. Airplanes will certainly look different in the near future if this catches on. It will be interesting to see.

Here's a picture of what the modified leading edge looks like. Its the long white thingy, not the old dude who, admittedly, is bumpy as well. ;-) :

[the invisib1e hand]

this will help bring the animal rights activists on board. it's ok if seagul gets killed by something that looks like a whale, isn't it?

[the invisib1e hand]

airplanes will look different...

[the invisib1e hand]

[cmsgop]

So they're going to attach an Old Man to the wing, I like it!

[the invisib1e hand]

So they're going to attach an Old Man to the wing, I like it!

L.O.L.

[Red_Devil 232]

So they're going to attach an Old Man to the wing, I like it!

Just give him plenty of beer, beans and pickled eggs!

[the invisib1e hand]

Fish says the better performance at low speeds is what makes the design stand out. "

The fish like it. That's important.

[Dr. Bogus Pachysandra]

“which feature a unique row of bumps or “tubercles” along their leading edge”

Well, I’m an old man, and between my big nose and my beer belly I get blown around on windy days!

[vietvet67]

“So they’re going to attach an Old Man to the wing, I like it!”

Still chucklin here. lol

Looks like old age does bring less wind resistance.

[oldplayer]

Duh . . . wouldn’t that be HYDROdynamics of the humpback whale’s flipper? Are these the same science writers that tell us about global warming?

Just wondering.

Oldplayer

[UCANSEE2]

“Researchers such as Frank Fish,”

Now, what are the chances?

[the invisib1e hand]

He's talking about flying humpbacks.

[johnandrhonda]

This is nonsense. Canadians love to throw R&D money at useless projects—all at taxpayer expense, of course. Next step will be a stock offering based on this bogus science. Few things have been studied more than the airplane propeller ever since the Wright Brothers built the first ones based on the understanding that it is in fact an airfoil, just like the airplane wing. To learn aerodynamics from nature you study birds, not whales.

[infantrywhooah]

If Humpbacks are not on the endangered list now they will be for sure when we start whaling them for their flippers again.

[Stoat]

From Walt Disney's classic "20,000 Leagues Under The Sea", Kirk Douglas sings "Whale of a Tale"

YouTube - Walt Disney's 20000 Leagues Under the Sea - Whale of a Tale

 

"snicker"

[Dacus943]

"If Humpbacks are not on the endangered list now they will be for sure when we start whaling them for their flippers again."

"You are a genius! Then we can turn'em around and have them blow on their own flippers.

[USFRIENDINVICTORIA]

How do you explain the wind tunnel results?

[BenLurkin]

ping

[Reaganesque]

Hydrodynamics and aerodynamics both fall under the category and therefore the laws of "Fluid Dynamics". The difference is mainly one of density but the principles are the same for both.

This from Wikipedia:

Fluid dynamics is the sub-discipline of fluid mechanics dealing with fluids (liquids and gases) in motion. It has several subdisciplines itself, including aerodynamics (the study of gases in motion) and hydrodynamics (the study of liquids in motion). Fluid dynamics has a wide range of applications, including calculating forces and moments on aircraft, determining the mass flow rate of petroleum through pipelines, predicting weather patterns, understanding nebulae in interstellar space and reportedly modeling fission weapon detonation. Some of its principles are even used in traffic engineering, where traffic is treated as a continuous fluid.

Fluid dynamics offers a systematic structure that underlies these practical disciplines and that embraces empirical and semi-empirical laws, derived from flow measurement, used to solve practical problems. The solution of a fluid dynamics problem typically involves calculation of various properties of the fluid, such as velocity, pressure, density, and temperature, as functions of space and time.

Reference