Bird Flight Analysis
GeddesPhysics Laboratories
Memorandum
To: Research and Development Team
From: Mrs. Geddes
Memorandum
To: Research and Development Team
From: Mrs. Geddes
The US Department of Defense is investigating the development of a Human Flight System that would allow the user to lift him/herself from the ground to the roof of a building or to leap safely from the roof of a building to the ground. This flight capability has many applications in combat situations where a soldier might require access to a building roof to accomplish a rescue mission or to terminate a roof-top sniper attack. Your task is to video a bird taking flight, and using video analysis and Newton's Second Law of Motion, determine the forces in effect to accomplishh the bird's acceleration during flight. Since the Pentagon is interested in both "ground to flight" and "flight to ground" scenarios, you may video a bird as it lifts off from the ground or as it descends from a higher elevation. The tasks required to complete the investigation are as follows:
1. Video a bird in lift-off or in descent.
2. Use video analysis to determine the bird's acceleration (advance frame-by-frame to obtain distance and time data). Since birds rarely move perfectly vertically or horizontally in take-off or descent, the acceleration will be the vector resultant of vertical and horizontal motions.
3. Superimpose a free-body diagram on the bird and determine the forces at work to assist the bird in flight.
4. Using reasonable assumptions (based on research) of the bird's mass, attempt to quantify the forces acting on the bird.
5. Scale these values up to an average size human to determine the forces required to achieve the same acceleration of a human.
6. Recommend a Human Flight System design to achieve these required forces and present in the format of your choice (video, lab report, powerpoint, etc.).
1. Video a bird in lift-off or in descent.
2. Use video analysis to determine the bird's acceleration (advance frame-by-frame to obtain distance and time data). Since birds rarely move perfectly vertically or horizontally in take-off or descent, the acceleration will be the vector resultant of vertical and horizontal motions.
3. Superimpose a free-body diagram on the bird and determine the forces at work to assist the bird in flight.
4. Using reasonable assumptions (based on research) of the bird's mass, attempt to quantify the forces acting on the bird.
5. Scale these values up to an average size human to determine the forces required to achieve the same acceleration of a human.
6. Recommend a Human Flight System design to achieve these required forces and present in the format of your choice (video, lab report, powerpoint, etc.).
Useful References:
|
|
Special thanks to B. J. Feldman, Univeristy of Missouri-St. Louis for his support and generous contributuions to this project.