At 04:59 28 February 2015, Paul Villinski wrote:
As a non-scientist/engineer, it baffles me that we are able to build
amazin=
gly sophisticated airplanes, yet, as the lecturer demonstrates, there is
a
=
huge amount of confusion over how to explain why a wing produces lift,
and
=
many of our common assumptions are simply wrong, i.e., the reason(s) for
ac=
celerated airflow over the top surface (which intuitively has never made
se=
nse to me). Engineers designing airplanes are themselves still arguing
over=
whether it's more about Bernoulli or the downward-turning force or
Coanda
=
effect. Yet, I'm still able to get from one coast to another at 35,000
feet=
traveling at 600 mph, while sipping coffee and watching a movie.

A reasonable parallel is the dual nature of light, which can be treated as
both wave and particle. Both models
explain the result.

John Firth