Bee Blooms
Restoring bee habitats through education and creative design
The majority of my research from freshman year has to do with the aerodynamics of the "flight" of wind dispersed seed pods. I did a lot of general research while I was still formulating my idea but once I nailed down a plan of action, I focused mostly on the complicated physics I have to learn in order to make a 3D printed model of my design that falls in a way that mimics a maple or tipuana tipu seed pod.
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Sophomore year, I have focused on making my project both educational and accessible because I realized that mass production of my original design was improbable. I also wanted to make sure anyone could make my project inexpensively and easily, because that is how it will make the greatest impact.
Research
Helicopter seeds(Maple and Tipuana tipu) use a falling method called a leading-edge vortex to fall in their classic swirling descent. According to a team of Dutch and American scientists from Wageningen University and Caltech, a maple seed creates a tornado-like vortex that rests on upper side of the seed end of the pod as it falls, causing the seed pod to spin slowly to the ground. This vortex lowers pressure on the “wing” of the seed pod and causes it to catch the wind and slow the descent. This strategy is miraculously similar to the tactic that insects, bats, and hummingbirds use to hover. “This vortex doubles the lift compared to the performance of non-swirling seeds.”(livescience).
The Science Behind the Flight of Seed Pods
The Science Behind the Flight of Paper Helicopters
The paper helicopter is inspired by actual helicopters, but it uses gravity and paper instead of machinery. When a paper helicopter is dropped, air pushes on each of the blades, making them slant upwards. The opposite forces acting on the blades causes the helicopter to spin as it falls. The size of the blades and the speed of the fall is an inverse relationship.