English Deutsch Français Italiano Español Português 繁體中文 Bahasa Indonesia Tiếng Việt ภาษาไทย
All categories

11 answers

No, this is a urban myth that started in Germany in the 1930s (see the link below).

......................
Supposedly during dinner a biologist asked an aerodynamics expert about insect flight. The aerodynamicist did a few calculations and found that, according to the accepted theory of the day, bumblebees didn't generate enough lift to fly. ...

...the aerodynamicist surely realized what the problem was--a faulty analogy between bees and conventional fixed-wing aircraft. Bees' wings are small relative to their bodies. If an airplane were built the same way, it'd never get off the ground. But bees aren't like airplanes, they're like helicopters. Their wings work on the same principle as helicopter blades--to be precise, "reverse-pitch semirotary helicopter blades," to quote one authority. A moving airfoil, whether it's a helicopter blade or a bee wing, generates a lot more lift than a stationary one.

2006-08-02 03:17:44 · answer #1 · answered by Randy G 7 · 1 0

It is not scientifically impossible for bees to fly.

Some years back, it was discovered that the peculiar movements of a bees wings can cause the lift, or higher air pressure under the body of a bee allowing it to "fly".

It is, however, impossible for a bee to soar or glide with little or no movement from its wings.

2006-08-02 10:17:19 · answer #2 · answered by hydrasire 2 · 0 0

Well, then if it's scientifically impossible, and of course we all know that bees can in fact fly, then it must be magic, according to the scientists that say these things. Moreover, it is not impossible for bees to fly, it is impossible for the scientists' brains to understand how they do it. It's a better way for them to say "I don't know".

2006-08-02 10:09:48 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0 0

I believe that a formula was used to show that Bee's flight was impossible but around late 1990's an error was discovered in the formula.

This is probably an Over simplified explanation, but I think it's the gist of it.

2006-08-02 10:09:35 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0 0

It's not scientifically impossible because they can fly. At one time it was deemed theoretically impossible but there was some kind of error in the calcs.

2006-08-02 10:21:16 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0 0

It has something to do with the fact that the total area of a pair of bees wing aren`t large enough to support the weight of it

2006-08-02 10:10:21 · answer #6 · answered by dnlrawson 4 · 0 0

It is possible for them to fly. At their size flying through the air is like a human swimming through water.

2006-08-02 10:10:04 · answer #7 · answered by ehc11 5 · 0 0

You better go tell the Bees that, they dont seem to know this.

2006-08-02 10:11:03 · answer #8 · answered by onename 4 · 0 0

I think they are supposedly too heavy for the little wings they have - and that the wings are not set in the best "aerodynamically correct" position, either. They are little buzzing miracles.

2006-08-02 10:09:33 · answer #9 · answered by cjsu 2 · 0 0

I'd guess that they're too heavy for the size of their wings.

2006-08-02 10:09:25 · answer #10 · answered by myownprivateroad 3 · 0 0

fedest.com, questions and answers