Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Lift01:23

Lift

Lift is a fundamental aerodynamic force that acts perpendicular to the direction of airflow. It plays a central role in achieving and sustaining flight and in stabilizing various vehicles. Lift primarily originates from pressure differences created across surfaces, such as an airfoil. A lower pressure region forms above the wing, while a higher pressure region forms below it, generating an upward force. This differential results from the shape and orientation of the airfoil, enabling the wing...
Convergent Evolution01:54

Convergent Evolution

Evolution shapes the features of organisms over time, ensuring that they are suited for the environments in which they live. Sometimes, selection pressure leads to the rise of similar but unrelated adaptations in organisms with no recent common ancestors, a process known as convergent evolution.The structures that arise from convergent evolution are called analogous structures. They are similar in function even if they are dissimilar in structure. Further, structures can be analogous while also...
Absolute Motion Analysis- General Plane Motion01:24

Absolute Motion Analysis- General Plane Motion

Visualize a drone, with its propellers spinning rapidly, hovering mid-air. The fascinating movements and operations of this drone can be comprehended by applying the principle of general plane motion.
As the drone's propellers rotate, an upward force is generated that counteracts the force of gravity, enabling the drone to lift off from the ground. This initial movement of the drone is along a straight path, representing a form of translational motion. In this phase, every point on the drone...
Energy Conservation and Bernoulli's Equation01:16

Energy Conservation and Bernoulli's Equation

Applying the conservation of energy principle or the work-energy theorem to an incompressible, inviscid fluid in laminar, steady, irrotational flow leads to Bernoulli's equation. It states that the sum of the fluid pressure, potential, and kinetic energy per unit volume is constant along a streamline.
All the terms in the equation have the dimension of energy per unit volume. The kinetic energy per unit volume is called the kinetic energy density, and the potential energy per unit volume is...
Vectors in 2D: Problem Solving01:29

Vectors in 2D: Problem Solving

A plane traveling due north at 180 km/h in still air was found to be 80 km off-course after 30 minutes, deviating approximately 5 degrees east of north. This deviation means the influence of a crosswind alters the plane’s intended trajectory. The actual ground path formed a diagonal, suggesting that the aircraft’s effective ground speed was reduced to 160 km/h and directed slightly to the east due to the wind.By analyzing the displacement from the intended path, the velocity contributed by the...
Conservation of Energy in Control Volume01:14

Conservation of Energy in Control Volume

Consider a turbine operating under steady-flow conditions. The control volume is drawn around the turbine, with fluid entering at one point and exiting at another. The turbine extracts energy from the fluid, which performs mechanical work (shaft work).
For steady flow systems, the time derivative of the stored energy becomes zero since there is no energy accumulation within the control volume. This simplifies the energy equation to:

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Self-supervised T2WI-bridged framework for liver segmentation and PDFF prediction from US images.

IEEE transactions on medical imaging·2026
Same author

Stable flapping flight in morphological space: Model, simulation, and explicit stability criteria.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026
Same author

Modality-Agnostic Federated Learning With Adaptive Updates for Heterogeneous Medical Image Tasks.

IEEE transactions on medical imaging·2026
Same author

GloW-VSNet: A scribble-based weakly supervised framework for global-view vitiligo lesion segmentation.

Medical image analysis·2025
Same author

Integrating Clinical Knowledge Graphs and Gradient-Based Neural Systems for Enhanced Melanoma Diagnosis via the Seven-Point Checklist.

IEEE transactions on neural networks and learning systems·2025
Same author

Kinematics and aerodynamics of in-flight drinking in bats.

Journal of the Royal Society, Interface·2025

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 19, 2026

Experimental Investigation of the Flow Structure over a Delta Wing Via Flow Visualization Methods
09:17

Experimental Investigation of the Flow Structure over a Delta Wing Via Flow Visualization Methods

Published on: April 23, 2018

Flapping wing flight can save aerodynamic power compared to steady flight.

Umberto Pesavento1, Z Jane Wang

  • 1Department of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA.

Physical Review Letters
|October 2, 2009
PubMed
Summary

Optimized flapping flight can be more energy-efficient than steady flight. Certain flapping motions save up to 27% aerodynamic power, challenging previous assumptions about flight efficiency.

More Related Videos

Measuring the Flight Ability of the Ambrosia Beetle, Platypus Quercivorus (Murayama), Using a Low-Cost, Small, and Easily Constructed Flight Mill
07:37

Measuring the Flight Ability of the Ambrosia Beetle, Platypus Quercivorus (Murayama), Using a Low-Cost, Small, and Easily Constructed Flight Mill

Published on: August 6, 2018

FLEX: Flight Exercise Training Protocol for the Fruit Fly Drosophila
03:47

FLEX: Flight Exercise Training Protocol for the Fruit Fly Drosophila

Published on: October 14, 2025

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jun 19, 2026

Experimental Investigation of the Flow Structure over a Delta Wing Via Flow Visualization Methods
09:17

Experimental Investigation of the Flow Structure over a Delta Wing Via Flow Visualization Methods

Published on: April 23, 2018

Measuring the Flight Ability of the Ambrosia Beetle, Platypus Quercivorus (Murayama), Using a Low-Cost, Small, and Easily Constructed Flight Mill
07:37

Measuring the Flight Ability of the Ambrosia Beetle, Platypus Quercivorus (Murayama), Using a Low-Cost, Small, and Easily Constructed Flight Mill

Published on: August 6, 2018

FLEX: Flight Exercise Training Protocol for the Fruit Fly Drosophila
03:47

FLEX: Flight Exercise Training Protocol for the Fruit Fly Drosophila

Published on: October 14, 2025

Area of Science:

  • Aerospace Engineering
  • Fluid Dynamics
  • Biomechanics

Background:

  • Flapping flight offers superior maneuverability compared to steady flight.
  • A potential trade-off between maneuverability and flight efficiency in flapping systems is debated.
  • Understanding the energetic costs of flapping flight is crucial for bio-inspired designs.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate if any flapping wing motion can achieve higher aerodynamic efficiency than optimal steady flight.
  • To quantify the potential energy savings of optimized flapping flight.
  • To identify the mechanisms behind any observed energetic advantages.

Main Methods:

  • Solving the Navier-Stokes equations for fluid dynamics around a 2D flapping wing.
  • Calculating the minimum aerodynamic power required to sustain a given weight.
  • Comparing the efficiency of various flapping motions against optimal steady flight.

Main Results:

  • Most flapping wing motions are less efficient than optimal steady flight.
  • Optimized flapping wing motions demonstrate significant energetic advantages, saving up to 27% aerodynamic power.
  • The study identifies the specific causes for this energetic benefit in optimized flapping flight.

Conclusions:

  • Flapping flight is not inherently less efficient than steady flight.
  • Optimized flapping strategies can surpass steady flight in aerodynamic efficiency.
  • This finding has implications for the design of efficient aerial vehicles and understanding natural flight.