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Definition: aerodynamics from Philip's Encyclopedia

Science of gases in motion and the forces acting on objects, such as aircraft, in motion through the air. An aircraft designer must consider four main factors and their interrelationships: weight of the aircraft and the load it will carry; lift to overcome the pull of gravity; drag, or the forces that retard motion; and thrust, the driving force. Air resistance (drag) increases as the square of an object's speed and is minimized by streamlining. Engineers use the wind tunnel and computer systems to predict aerodynamic performance.


aerodynamics

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
study of gases in motion. As the principal application of aerodynamics is the design of aircraft, air is the gas with which the science is most concerned. Although aerodynamics is primarily concerned with flight, its principles are also used in designing automobile and train bodies for minimum drag and in computing wind stresses on bridges, buildings, smokestacks, trees, and other structures. It is also used in charting flows of pollutants in the atmosphere and in determining frictional effects in gas ducts. The wind tunnel is one of the aerodynamicist's basic experimental tools; however in recent years, it has been supplanted by the simulation of aerodynamic forces during the computer-aided design of aircraft and automobiles. There are three basic forces to be considered in aerodynamics: thrust, which moves an airplane forward; drag, which holds it back; and lift, which keeps it airborne. Lift is generally explained by three theories: Bernoulli's principle , the Coanda effect , and…
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Full text Article aerodynamics

From An Illustrated Dictionary of Aviation
i. The science that deals with the motion of air and other gaseous fluids and of the forces acting on bodies when the bodies move through such fluids, or when such fluids move against or around the bodies. It also studies the qualities required for fast and efficient movement through the air and…
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Full text Article aerodynamics

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
study of gases in motion. As the principal application of aerodynamics is the design of aircraft, air is the gas with which the science is most concerned. Although aerodynamics is primarily concerned with flight, its principles are also used in designing automobile and train bodies for minimum drag…
| 729 words
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Full text Article aerodynamics

From The American Heritage Student Science Dictionary
aerodynamics
top: high wind drag on a less...
The study of the movement of air and other gases and of the forces involved in their movements. It is also the study of the way objects, such as cars and airplanes, interact with air when they are moving through it. aerodynamics The two primary forces in aerodynamics are lift and drag. Lift refers…
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Full text Article aerodynamics

From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide
Branch of fluid physics that studies the forces exerted by air or other gases in motion. Examples include the airflow around bodies moving at speed through the atmosphere (such as land vehicles, bullets, rockets, and aircraft), the behaviour of gas in engines and furnaces, air conditioning of…
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Full text Article aerodynamics,

From The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea
Components of the wind
a branch of the science of pneumatics which deals with air and other gases in motion and with their mechanical effects. In its maritime connection it can be used to explain how a wind produces forward motion in a sailing vessel even when it blows from before the vessel's beam . When a wind strikes a…
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Full text Article aerodynamics

From The American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language
aerodynamics top: high drag on a less aerodynamic...
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Full text Article Aerodynamics

From Dictionary of Industrial Terms
The science of managing airflow plays a major role in racecar design and tuning because modern day open wheeled cars are highly sophisticated aerodynamic devices. Areas of high and low pressure are carefully managed to maximize downforce (to give a car grip) while minimizing drag (to maximize…
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Full text Article aerodynamics

From Britannica Concise Encyclopedia
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Full text Article aerodynamics

From The Macquarie Dictionary
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Full text Article aerodynamics

From Collins English Dictionary
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