Enlarge / A 3D-printed scale model runs in the wind tunnel. Small tufts of wool stuck to the bodywork help visualize airflow over the body. (credit: Polestar) Car companies can be quite secretive, and concepts can live and die without the public ever seeing more than a photograph, if that. Polestar is being much less […]
Enlarge / Scientists have devised a new method for determining the aerodynamics of baseballs in free flight. (credit: Mike Kemp/Getty Images) Baseball has long been a popular topic of research for physicists, largely because of the complex aerodynamics of a baseball in flight. Traditionally, scientists relied upon wind tunnel experiments to measure key properties like […]
Enlarge / Image from a 2018 observational study of ballooning in large spiders depicting a crab spider just as it is about to take off. (credit: Cho, M. et al., 2018/CC BY-SA 4.0) In 1832, Charles Darwin witnessed hundreds of ballooning spiders landing on the HMS Beagle while some 60 miles offshore. Ballooning is a […]
Enlarge / An Acura MDX undergoing an aerodynamic test in Honda’s new $124 million wind tunnel—the most advanced in the world. (credit: Jonathan Gitlin) Honda provided a flight to Columbus and back and a night in a hotel so we could visit the new facility. Ars does not accept paid editorial content. EAST LIBERTY, OHIO—Over […]
Enlarge / A miniature predatory robber fly (Holcocephala fascia) feeds on a captured rove beetle. A new study reveals that the fly approaches its prey from underneath, aiming for a future meeting point wth the target. (credit: Samuel Fabian) Robber flies are aerodynamic acrobats, able to spot their prey, dodge around obstacles, and capture smaller […]
Formula 1 has new technical regulations for 2022, the most sweeping changes to the sport in many years. This is what the new cars will look like. [credit: Formula 1 ] On Thursday in Silverstone, England ahead of this weekend’s British Grand Prix, Formula 1 revealed next year’s car to the public. 2022 will see […]
Enlarge / University of Bonn physicists were inspired to investigate the aerodynamics of flying beer mats after traveling to Munich with a German physics demonstration show. (credit: sheck / iStock / Getty Images Plus) Many a pub crawler has engaged in the time-honored tradition of throwing beer mats—those round cardboard coasters that are ubiquitous in […]