![No Flights of Fancy](https://cdn.magzter.com/1441816897/1697173953/articles/6ZOa9_1YJ1697275966124/Airplanes-Animal-inspired-innovations.jpg)
Airplane wings that flap. Or have saw-toothed edges. Or have surfaces that ripple. These features might seem out of reach for aircraft. Yet, many animals, like owls and dolphins, use such traits to move. (No, dolphins don't fly. But both air and water are fluids, or substances that flow. So, physics-wise, sharks and swifts are similar.)
From the beginning of aviation, animals influenced aircraft design. Even today, critters' amazing traits help them outperform most planes. Check out some animal-inspired innovations you may see on airplanes one day.
Flapping Forward
Most airplane wings are stiff, with hinged flaps that move. These flaps change the amount of upward force, or lift, that the wings experience. Unfortunately, they also increase drag-a backwards-acting force-and make movement clunky.
Bird wings, in contrast, are better and smoother liftcontrollers. Engineers are borrowing from them to make wings that flex in any direction. Nick Cramer helped develop such a wing. He's now an engineer at Supernal, an aviation company in Sunnyvale, California. The wing his team developed has three features similar to the bones, cartilage, and feathers of bird wings. "The last feature is a rod that runs down the wing's center and twists the wing," he says. "This is similar to what birds use when coasting on the wind."
Even cooler are wing-parts built with shape memory alloys. These materials "remember" different shapes at different temperatures. They can change shape without electricity or mechanical hinges. Imagine a wing that flaps on its own!
Denne historien er fra November/December 2023-utgaven av Muse Science Magazine for Kids.
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Denne historien er fra November/December 2023-utgaven av Muse Science Magazine for Kids.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
![Who's Your Cousin?](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/11355/1633847/ASHqA7muv1710505048312/crp_Great-apes-Chimpanzee-Gorilla.jpg)
Who's Your Cousin?
The great apes are among the most popular animals in most zoos. Their actions, facial expressions, and family life remind us so much of ourselves. Have you ever wondered, though, how we might look to them?
![Is it possible to die of boredom?](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/11355/1633847/ZzB-iZQgF1710508711802/IS-IT-POSSIBLE-TO-DIE-OF-BOREDOM.jpg)
Is it possible to die of boredom?
To figure out if we can die of boredom, we first have to understand what boredom is. For help, we called James Danckert, a psychologist who studies boredom at the University of Waterloo in Canada.
![THE PROBLEM WITH PALM OIL](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/11355/1633847/NE6B5peNi1710508405429/THE-PROBLEM-WITH-PALM-OIL.jpg)
THE PROBLEM WITH PALM OIL
Palm oil is all around you. It’s in sugary snacks like cookies and candy bars. It’s in lipstick and shampoo and pet food.
![SERGE WICH](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/11355/1633847/-jLx5_Ovb1710508082294/SERGE-WICH.jpg)
SERGE WICH
Serge Wich’s favorite days at work are spent out in the forest, studying orangutans in Sumatra and Borneo or chimpanzees in Tanzania.
![ELODIE FREYMANN](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/11355/1633847/rxYkBeZAq1710507644261/ELODIE-FREYMANN.jpg)
ELODIE FREYMANN
When you’re feeling sick, it probably doesn’t occur to you to try eating tree bark.
![Guardians of the Forest](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/11355/1633847/3EFkZEWa51710506719598/GUARDIANS-OF-THE-FOREST.jpg)
Guardians of the Forest
EARLY, MAKESHIFT WILDLIFE DRONES HELPED TO DETECT AND PROTECT ORANGUTANS.
![APE ANTICS](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/11355/1633847/oR6tFGQgh1710507151473/APE-ANTICS.jpg)
APE ANTICS
The Whirling World of primate play
![Dr. Ape Will See You Now](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/11355/1633847/Mp7BNzq0N1710506413948/DR-APE-WILL-SEE-YOU-NOW.jpg)
Dr. Ape Will See You Now
HUMANS AREN’T THE ONLY PRIMATES THAT USE MEDICATION.
![THE LEFT OVERS](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/11355/1633847/R-dA4gR5q1710505795587/THE-LEFT-OVERS.jpg)
THE LEFT OVERS
A lot has happened for modern humans to get to this point. We lost most of our hair, learned how to make tools, established civilizations, sent a person to the Moon, and invented artificial intelligence. Whew! With all of these changes, our bodies have changed, too. It’s only taken us about six million years.
![SO, WHAT IS A PRIMATE?](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/11355/1633847/adJ6Z9jpO1710505380650/SO-WHAT-IS-A-PRIMATE.jpg)
SO, WHAT IS A PRIMATE?
What do you have in common with the aye-aye, sifaka, siamang, and potto? If you said your collarbone, you re probably a primatologist—a person who studies primates. If you’re not, read on.