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The secret of insect flight
Insects, in turn, use a different technique for flying. Based on aerodynamic principles, in fact, insects shouldn't be able to even get off the ground. A good example is the bumblebee, whose delicate wings appear to be much too light-weight to support its heavy body. Only in the final decade of the 20th century, when scientists tested artificial robot flies in a wind tunnel, did they discover that insects produce lift through tiny, ring-shaped vortices which form on the top of the wing.
When an insect flaps its wings, however, these vortices should actually increase in size and separate from the wing. In this case, the vortices would not be able to produce lift. However, like with birds and aircraft, certain pressure ratios play a key role. When a wing beats, it moves faster at its tip than it does close to the insect's body. The air moves faster at the end of the wing and more slowly at the base. As a result, the pressure generated at the tip of the wing is much lower than close to the body.
To even out the air pressure, the air from the vortex is drawn back toward the tip of the wing. Because this prevents the vortex from growing larger, it remains more or less in the same place where it was produced. This creates an upward suction effect, and the bumblebee is pressed upward. It benefits from lift as long as it keeps beating its wings. This is the secret behind insect flight.
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