Ask an Explainer
Q:
What happens if a bird stops flapping its wings in mid-air? Will they fall? Or will they be fine because of air pressre??
A:
Imagine you are swimming in a swimming pool. You give yourself a strong push, then stop moving your arms and legs - do you immediately stop in the water? No!
You, and birds, have something called momentum: it's how much movement you have built up. When a bird stops flapping its wings, it still has momentum, so it doesn't stop right away. If it keeps its wings out, it could glide all the way down to the ground if it wanted to even if it were no longer producing lift.
Posted on October 8, 2015 at 1:57 am
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