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How to Build a Glider Using the Bernoulli's Principle

The Bernoulli principle describes the relationship of velocity and pressure of a moving fluid, stating that as the velocity increases, the pressure decreases. Engineers applied the same concept to air, intuiting that it acts similarly to a fluid. As a wing with a rounded top and flat bottom moves through the air, the air passing over it must travel quicker than the air passing below it to avoid creating a vacuum. The difference in air speeds creates higher pressure conditions underneath the wing than on top of the wing, lifting the wing upward. You can construct a glider that floats through the air using the lift described by Bernoulli's principle.

Instructions

    • 1

      Design the glider on a large piece of butcher paper or newsprint. Draw outlines of the glider from a top-down perspective as well as a side view. Include lines to separate the wings from the body of the glider.

    • 2

      Check the side view of the wings to ensure that they have a flat bottom and a half-teardrop-shaped curve along the top. Erase and redraw the outline of the wings if they do not appear as described.

    • 3

      Cut the outlines out of the paper. Follow the lines, cutting slightly outside to keep the lines on the templates.

    • 4

      Place the top-down outline on a Styrofoam slab. Cut along the lines on the templates to create the Styrofoam parts of your glider.

    • 5

      Place the side-view template along the side of each Styrofoam portion of your glider. Remove the excess Styrofoam by cutting along the lines of the templates.

    • 6

      Connect the Styrofoam parts using short sections of toothpicks. Check that the wide edge of each wing points forward. Gently toss your glider forward to test how well the wings generate the lift described by Bernoulli's principle.

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