Setanta wrote:Good question Boss, one of my fondest childhood memories was standing slack-jawed, gaping at the hummingbirds among the trumpet vines and morning glorys, as the newly risen sun burned the dew off the grape arbor . . .
I have this same memory. It's generally followed by a memory of the scorching Bakersfield sun sending me back inside for shoes.
Cav
How about a Carrier Pigeon :wink:
Sorry, Cav, I couldn't resist it, but you opened the door for that one.
BumbleBeeBoogie
edit to say: what was i thinking about when i posted this? air conditioners it seems
Cav and Beth, I goofed
Cav and Beth, I goofed when I wrote "Carrier Pigeon." I meant to say "Passenger Pigeon." Duh!
BumbleBeeBoogie
About the extinct Passenger Pigeon:
http://www.ulala.org/P_Pigeon/Pigeon_History.html
BBB,
The description of the mechanics of a bumblebee's wings that you quoted is simply false. They do not obtain their lift in the same way that do fixed wing aircraft.
The mechanics of the BB's flight is far more similar to that of a helicopter than that of a fixed wing aircraft. One of the articles I cite below calls it "reverse-pitch semirotary helicopter blades."
The origin of the folkloric tale that bumblebees are not aerodynamic was reported at length at this site:
http://www.iop.org though the article is no longer online.
Reportedly this story started at a dinner party in which a drunk aerodynamics expert used cauculations for fixed wing aircraft to determine that the bumblebee can't fly. The biologist who had asked the question was quite pleased and due to what some ascribe as science envy (you know, good ole envy of hard sciences) and spread it to as many people as possible. Cecil Adams has it spreading through "German technical universities in the 1930s".
There is a lot more to this:
Here is a SHORT summary:
http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a5_045.html
Here is a good article:
Quote:A well-known myth says that scientists once proved that bumblebees should not be able to fly. The myth started from an over-simplified calculation on a napkin at a dinner party. But even detailed models of the flight of the bumblebee are limited because they are based largely on the motion of tethered bumblebees, which behave differently. Now Lijang Zeng of Tsinghua University in China and colleagues have devised a laser system that accurately measures the key parameter in the flight of any insect - its 'body vector' (Lijang Zeng et al 2001 Meas. Sci. Technol. 12 1886).
http://physicsweb.org/article/news/5/10/9
More links:
http://www.iop.org/EJ/abstract/0957-0233/12/11/318/
http://216.239.41.100/search?q=cache:Bq7UYigrSW4J:www.iop.org/EJ/article/0957-0233/12/11/318/e11118.pdf+site:iop.org+BumbleBee&hl=en&ie=UTF-8
He he,
I said "far more similar".
Craven, I wouldn't dare disagree or dispute anyone with an avatar as fierce as yours. :wink:
BumbleBeeBoogie (grounded because of broken rotor wings)
Craven
Craven, I'm not all that concerned whether or not the Bumble Bee flying thing is accurate or not. I chose that motto in the 1970s because it represented my efforts working for change despite any obstacles in my way. I also chose it because my disabilities were becoming more pronounced, which made my efforts all the more difficult. The Bumble Bee motto reprresented my determination not to let my disabilities get in the way of achieving my goals.
If you knew my work and volunteer schedule in addition to going to school at night (the first time in my life in my late 40s, I was able to finally get some college education) you would understand why I felt the Bumble Bee motto fit me so aptly.
I'm still a determined Bumble Bee, but now old age just makes it even harder---but the Bumble Bee never, never gives up.
BumbleBeeBoogie
BBB
Thanks for the info on the hummingbirds. That's interesting :-D
BBB,
I tried to say nuthin' for a long time because it was one of my favorite anecdotes as a kid. It was back when I was a theist and it represented to me the triumph of god's creation over science.
To the man who started spreading it it represented the triumph of his science over "hard" sciences like math.
So many people have taken meaning from that anecdote that I almost wish it were true. But being a fan of science I can't help but say something about it.
In any situation in which theory conflicts with reality, it is the theory which is faulty, not reality. Clearly Bumblebees can fly, they just can't boogie
rosborne, How do you know they can't boogie? c.i.
Haven't heard of the "Dance of the Bumblebee?"
