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Birds of Different Feathers Fly to the Same Beat
Context :
In a groundbreaking discovery, scientists at Roskilde University in Denmark have found that almost all animals that fly through the air and many that swim through water have evolved to flap their wings or fins at a frequency determined by a simple formula.
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- Led by Tina Hecksher and colleagues Jens Højgaard Jensen and Jeppe Dyre, the study’s findings were published in the journal PLOS One.
Key facts About the Study
- The Universal Flapping Frequency Formula :
- The researchers found that the frequency at which a winged animal flaps its wings to hover in the air (or stay submerged in the water) can be described by a simple formula: f ∝ √m/A (∝ stands for ‘is proportional to’) .In this formula:
- ‘f ‘ is the flapping frequency.
- ‘m’ is the mass of the animal.
- ‘A’ is the area of the wings.
- This relationship was found to hold true across a wide variety of species, including insects, birds, bats, penguins, whales, and even a robotic bird known as an ornithopter.
- When the researchers plotted the calculated values of various animals, birds, and insects ,they observed a nearly straight line. This indicates an almost perfect fit with their model, validating the proposed relationship.
- The researchers found that the frequency at which a winged animal flaps its wings to hover in the air (or stay submerged in the water) can be described by a simple formula: f ∝ √m/A (∝ stands for ‘is proportional to’) .In this formula:
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Note : An object that floats in a fluid is known as being positively buoyant. An object that sinks to the bottom is negatively buoyant. An object that stays balanced at the same level in the fluid is neutrally buoyant. |
- Application to Swimming Animals :
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- The formula applies to animals maintaining position in fluids, like flying birds, insects, and positively buoyant swimmers such as whales and penguins.
- It doesn’t apply directly to fish with swim bladders, which adjust buoyancy to remain submerged without constant fin movement, differing from flying or positively buoyant swimmers.
- Validation and Limitations:
- The researchers tested their equation with data from older studies, including 176 insect data points (bees, moths, dragonflies, beetles, mosquitoes), 212 bird data points (from hummingbirds to swans), and 25 bat data points.
- The formula held true across these diverse species, demonstrating its robustness.
- Implications and Future Research :
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- This universal equation describes the flapping frequencies of winged animals and informs the evolution of flight.
- It guides the design of winged robots and aerial vehicles. Understanding this formula could advance biology, robotics, and aerodynamics, revealing the principles of flight and swimming in nature.