The most detailed three-dimensional aerodynamic simulation of hummingbird flight to date has definitively shown that the hummingbird achieves its agile aerobatic capabilities through a unique set of aerodynamic forces that are more closely aligned with those of flying insects than other birds. The sight of a tiny hummingbird floating in front of one flower and then rushing towards another at lightning speed astonishes and delights. But it also leaves viewers with a persistent question: How do they do it? Plus, Anna`s hummingbirds can do another amazing aerial stunt – it spreads its wings when it`s about to hit the ground and zooms up. Using supercomputers from the National Science Foundation`s Extreme Science and Engineering Discovery Environment (XSEDE) and Vanderbilt`s Advanced Computing Center for Research and Education, engineers created a dynamic fluid model that simulated the thousands of tiny eddies that create the hummingbird`s wings, allowing them to replicate the complex web of forces that fly these tiny wonders of nature. As anyone with a nectar feeder in America can attest, wonderful birds as hummingbirds, effortlessly changing direction on any plane, are truly fascinating to observe. Seemingly defying physics and covered in shimmering metallic plumage, it`s no wonder the birds have attracted the attention of biologists and collectors for centuries. But there`s more to it than that. The video showed that hummingbird wings affect air circulation. With each downward run, they create a swirling air mass, which creates an area of low pressure, which in turn creates an upward force that makes them float. In addition, each upward stroke generates buoyancy of the air. During upward movement, the leading edge of the wing moves backwards, while the lower section moves forward.
This rotation creates thousands of chaotic air vortices that provide lift. The model showed that the hummingbird`s upward stroke was more aerodynamic than the downward stroke. In addition, the study showed that downward running generated 150% more vertical force than upward running (via Vanderbilt University). Both species cling to the edge of their adorable little claws, then swing safely with their steel bellies under the rim. They seem to be the only species that can do this without the help of special shoes. However, claws are essential. We know this, because after researchers scratched the animals, here`s what happened: as the smallest birds in the world – the bee hummingbird weighs only 2 grams – hummingbirds have many impressive claims to glory. It is the only bird that can truly fly backwards, the only bird that can hover in one place for more than 30 seconds and has the fastest metabolism of all vertebrates. As Brendan Borrell writes in National Geographic, if a hummingbird was the size of a human, it should drink a can of soda per minute while floating around to get enough energy.
So far, so what? After all, even a modest Ford Fiesta can drive at least twice as fast. Ah, but Anna`s hummingbird is only five centimeters long. The new supercomputer simulation was created by two mechanical engineers from Vanderbilt University who teamed up with a biologist from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. It is described in the article “Three-dimensional flow and lift characteristics of a hovering ruby throat kommingbird” published this fall in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface. In most cases, this is also the case with animals – if your precious Mr. Fluffykins runs away from the edge of the table like the fool that he is, he will immediately fall to the ground – but two completely independent creatures have found a fun way to tell the laws of inertia to fuck hell. Geckos and cockroaches, if they do not sell you insurance and do not make you vomit after finding one in your sandwich, escape predators thanks to a senseless act of disappearance that defies reason: to perform its amazing dive, the hummingbird must roll its wings at more than 1,000 beats per minute, burning body fuel – derived mainly from nectar – about 400 times faster than a human. If there`s nothing they don`t tell us, animals don`t really understand physics. If they fall from the top of a tree and become flat, they have no idea it was gravity.
They only know that they are dead now. But that doesn`t stop them from mastering the physical laws of the universe in a way that science barely understands. Although hummingbirds are much larger than flying insects and stir the air more violently as they move, the way they fly is more closely related to insects than other birds, the researchers said. For some time, researchers have been aware of the similarities between hummingbird and insect flight, but some experts have supported an alternative model suggesting that hummingbird wings have similar aerodynamic properties to helicopter blades. However, the new realistic simulation shows that tiny birds use transient airflow mechanisms, creating invisible swirls of air that create the elevator they need to float and rush from flower to flower. According to the simulation, the downward run generates most of the thrust, but that`s only because the hummingbird puts more energy into it. Upstroke generates only 30% lift, but requires only 30% energy, making upstroke just as aerodynamically efficient as stronger downforce. California scientists have shown that a small bird known as Anna`s hummingbird can dive into the air at speeds of about 50 miles per hour when trying to impress a partner. You might think that if the hummingbird flapped its wings fast enough and hard enough, it could push enough air down to keep its little body afloat. But according to the simulation, the production of elevators is much more difficult than that. To learn more about how these tiny birds float, the researchers created a computer simulation of what actually happens when a hummingbird appears to be floating in the air.
To do this, they placed nine small dots of non-toxic paint on the wings of a female ruby-throated hummingbird. Then they recorded the bird with four high-speed cameras. From there, they extracted data from the color and created a three-dimensional model that replicated what happened in the air when the bird flapped its wings. Anna`s hummingbird and its flights of fantasy defying death may seem grand, but the truth is that all life is miraculous. Like tiny flying jewels, hummingbirds seem to float in the air while their wings flutter so fast that they are anything but blurry. As one of the most incredible feats of evolution, many secrets of the little fast bird have remained shrouded in mystery and known only from the smoking jungles in which they live. But with high-resolution, high-speed cameras, things have changed. The findings, published in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface, discovered a complicated process different from what happens in most birds. While most large birds produce buoyancy during their downward course, hummingbirds create buoyancy with each stroke and downwards. This type of high-energy activity makes their flight patterns more similar to those of insects than birds, according to Vanderbilt University. Related reading: Physics isn`t the only thing animals have played with in nature – nor do they play by the rules of evolution.
And do you know what else laughs about physics? Incredible substances like plastic, which is only one atom thick, and gases heavy enough to float solid objects. The superpowers of hummingbirds result from a few different characteristics. First of all, they have large chest bones compared to other birds. Second, the bones of their wings connect to their chest bones with a kneecap similar to what humans have in their shoulders and hips. This articulation gives their wings greater rotation per scientific objective. But these attributes still don`t explain how these tiny birds seem to defy physics when they float. An explosion of water droplets as a hummingbird dries up. © Victor Ortega-Jimenez and Robert Dudley/National Geographic A fighter jet can fly at 150 bl/s; The Space Shuttle reaches 207 bl/sec the fastest; but when it dives, the hummingbird Anna surpasses the lot with 383 bl/sec. But in fact, there are many, many members of the animal kingdom whose physical abilities are simply implausible – in fact, they seem to defy the laws of physics and therefore nature itself. A male Anna hummingbird captured during an exhibition dive, compiled from high-speed videos. One of the most fascinating characteristics of hummingbirds is the speed at which they flap their wings.