What makes flying devices propel

You can then navigate through the links based on your own interest and inquiry. However, if you prefer a more structured approach, you can also take one of our Guided Tours through the site.

Each tour provides a sequence of pages dealing with some aspect of propulsion. For younger students, a simpler explanation of the information on this page is available on the Kids Page. Many of the pages contain mathematical equations which have been produced graphically and which are too long or complex to provide in an "ALT" tag. For these pages, we have retained the non-compliant graphical page and have provided a separate compliant text only page which contains all of the information of the original page.

The two pages are connected through hyperlinks. Welcome to the Beginner's Guide to Propulsion. What is propulsion? The word is derived from two Latin words: pro meaning before or forwards and pellere meaning to drive.

Propulsion means to push forward or drive an object forward. A propulsion system is a machine that produces thrust to push an object forward. For landing, thrust must be less than drag, and lift must be less than weight. Forces of Flight On This Page. It acts in a downward direction—toward the center of the Earth. Lift is the force that acts at a right angle to the direction of motion through the air.

Lift is created by differences in air pressure. Thrust is the force that propels a flying machine in the direction of motion. Engines produce thrust.

It needs to be more efficient, fly for longer, and fly outside. Barrett's team is working on increasing the efficiency of their design, to produce more ionic wind with less voltage. The researchers are also hoping to increase the design's thrust density -- the amount of thrust generated per unit area. Currently, flying the team's lightweight plane requires a large area of electrodes, which essentially makes up the plane's propulsion system.

Ideally, Barrett would like to design an aircraft with no visible propulsion system or separate controls surfaces such as rudders and elevators. Now the possibilities for this kind of propulsion system are viable. Materials provided by Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Original written by Jennifer Chu.

Note: Content may be edited for style and length. Science News. Barrett and his team at MIT have published their results in the journal Nature.

ScienceDaily, 23 November Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Engineers fly first-ever plane with no moving parts: The silent, lightweight aircraft doesn't depend on propellers or turbines.

Retrieved November 14, from www. Engineers are developing an approach using ice itself.