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Aerodynamics of Hummingbird Flight (Image 2)
Using a sophisticated digital imaging technique, scientists have now determined the aerodynamics of hummingbird flight. Researchers discovered that hummingbirds differ from both birds and insects in how they hover. Hummingbirds support 75 percent of their body weight on the downstroke, which is actually a forward motion in the nearly vertical hovering birds. The new finding will provide engineers with a refined model for developing miniature autonomous flying vehicles.
These latest data disprove conclusions from numerous earlier studies that hummingbirds hovered like insects despite their profound muscle and skeletal differences.
This image accompanied NSF press release, "Ultra-Fast Camera Captures How Hummingbirds Hover." [See related image Here.]
Credit: Nicolle Rager Fuller, National Science Foundation
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