Funny thing, everything about the bumble bee shows scientists that it should not fly. Its weight, size, and tiny wings...any thoughts?
2006-07-28 18:18:12 · 8 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Zoology
The idea that aerodynamically it should be impossible for a bumblebee to fly was based on incorrect assumptions about how an insect actually flies.
If a bumblebee simply flapped her wings straight up and down, then it would indeed be impossible for her to generate lift. Fortunately for the bumblebee, that's not what they do.
It was more a statement about how little aeronautical engineers at the time actually knew than a facet of natural history that displayed that sheer bloody-mindedness on the part of bumblebees allowed them to fly when they shouldn't be able to.
Unfortunately, the meme of the bumblebee's impossible flight seems to have somehow been preserved over the years, much like the absurd 'humans only use 10% of their brains', 'water drains clockwise in the northern hemisphere, counter-clockwise in the southern hemisphere', or 'bats carry rabies' memes.
2006-07-28 19:27:40 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 8⤊ 1⤋
You are too much in to worshiping scientific authority. One experiment is more powerful than all the most powerful talk by scientists.
It was experimentation and observation that made science better than a guess in the first place. Believe in what you see. You are smart enough to trust that.
2006-07-29 01:27:00 · answer #2 · answered by eric l 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
heck no they bumble along from flower to flower....ok seriously yes they do fly but if you watch them they do go from flower to flower not making big flying trips till it's time go to the hive, so I figure they are saving their energy for the big flight home and don't ever wander too far from the hive
2006-07-29 01:26:14 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes Virginia--bumblebees actually DO fly
Yet another example of the marvelous hand of God !!!
2006-07-29 01:22:22 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
No, of course not; they move through the air by quantum tunneling...
Actually, insect aerodynamics are now fairly well understood.
2006-07-29 01:27:39 · answer #5 · answered by injanier 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
yes they fly
2006-07-29 03:30:15 · answer #6 · answered by lol 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
they fly little airplanes
fool
2006-07-29 01:22:32 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
shut your mouth
go look out our window instead of in your scientific computer world
2006-07-29 01:21:20 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋