Aerodynamics: What is it?

Aerodynamics: What is it?
By: Aerospot
Aerodynamics doesn't seem to interest the general public. Normally, when someone hear the word "Aero", they often refer it to airplanes or the massive engines abord a jet. Aerodynamics doesn't just apply to the world of advanced aviation and its partner, aeronautics. Aerodynamics apply to planes, engines, cars, trains, boats and even yourself, you have aerodynamical properties. Aerodynamics involves, in aviation, drag, thrust, weight and lift, the four principles of flight. When you run, you have aerodynamical properties. When you run, you can make yourself faster by changing your aerodynamical properties. For example, if you run with a clenched fist, you create drag, therefore, making yourself slower and harder for you to run fast. But, when you run with your hand straight at your side against the wind, you reduce the amount of drag making it easier for you to run and, therefore, run faster. This is a basic rule of aerodynamics, which involves 2 of the principles of flight indicated above. Aerodynamics is an interaction with a moving object. This means that anything that moves, has aerodynamics involved. In advanced science, aerodynamics is a branch of dynamics. Cars have aerodynamical properties too. A car produces drag when it hits the oncoming air. The thrust in this part is the engine, which provides power to move forward. Aerodynamics, which involves trains and cars, also has significant in the area of air and flight. Specifically moving to aviation and aeronautics. In aviation, you do not have only lift and drag, you have all sorts of things like turbulence (differences in air pressure), pressure changes, even strong winds can affect the airplanes performance and even it's aerodynamical characteristics. The winds can be a factor of thrust, or a factor of drag. If the wind is a tailwind (a wind that goes in the direction of the plane - push the aircraft forward) is a thrust factor. If the wind is a headwind (a wind that goes in the opposite direction of the plane - pushes the aircraft backward) is a drag factor. The reason why a headwind is like a drag factor is because it makes it harder for the aircraft to gain speed. The reason why a tailwind is like a thrust factor is because it makes it easier for the aircraft to gain speed. Remember, aerodynamics is not just about planes, about every moving thing.