Post by 1dave on May 25, 2024 19:55:53 GMT -5
www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-feathers-are-one-of-evolutions-cleverest-inventions/
Birds of a Feather
For as many varieties of birds there are in the world, there is an equal array of feathers that help the animals fly, keep warm and even swim quickly. For birds that fly, feather shape evolved to enhance aerodynamics. Namely, a feather is aerodynamically asymmetrical, so that the trailing edge of the feather is three times wider than the leading one.
Illustration of aerodynamic asymmetry
Maria Amorette Klos
Illustration of slotted and unslotted wings
Maria Amorette Klos
Each feather type is incredibly adapted to environment and purpose. The slotted feathers of the Greater Prairie Chicken, a type of grouse, allow it to spring quickly into flight if startled; hummingbirds have ultrastiff feathers that allow them to hover in midair and dart around; the flightless penguin has a dense netting of small feathers that reduces drag in water and makes it easier to swim.
Image of splayed grouse feathers
The wing of the Greater Prairie-Chicken, a type of grouse, has a slotted tip that helps the bird burst into flight when startled. Robert Clark
Facial disks of feathers around the eyes and ears of owls funnel sounds to their inner ears, helping them zero in on prey without seeing it at all.
Facial disks of feathers on an owl face
Maria Amorette Klos
What the experts say: Feathers have inspired a range of products and technological innovations. “The silencing fringes of owl feathers have inspired ventilation-quieting systems. The surface texture and boundary-layer-control principles of penguin feathers have made their way into robotics, mostly in prototypes,” writes Michael B. Habib, a paleontologist and biomechanist at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles and the University of California, Los Angeles.
Birds of a Feather
For as many varieties of birds there are in the world, there is an equal array of feathers that help the animals fly, keep warm and even swim quickly. For birds that fly, feather shape evolved to enhance aerodynamics. Namely, a feather is aerodynamically asymmetrical, so that the trailing edge of the feather is three times wider than the leading one.
Illustration of aerodynamic asymmetry
Maria Amorette Klos
Powered flight—that is, flapping flight rather than gliding flight—probably evolved multiple times in dinosaurs, with just one of those lineages surviving to the present in the form of birds. Feathers’ ability to twist in just the right way enabled slotting, which makes the wing much more efficient at low flight speeds.
Illustration of slotted and unslotted wings
Maria Amorette Klos
Each feather type is incredibly adapted to environment and purpose. The slotted feathers of the Greater Prairie Chicken, a type of grouse, allow it to spring quickly into flight if startled; hummingbirds have ultrastiff feathers that allow them to hover in midair and dart around; the flightless penguin has a dense netting of small feathers that reduces drag in water and makes it easier to swim.
Image of splayed grouse feathers
The wing of the Greater Prairie-Chicken, a type of grouse, has a slotted tip that helps the bird burst into flight when startled. Robert Clark
Facial disks of feathers around the eyes and ears of owls funnel sounds to their inner ears, helping them zero in on prey without seeing it at all.
Facial disks of feathers on an owl face
Maria Amorette Klos
What the experts say: Feathers have inspired a range of products and technological innovations. “The silencing fringes of owl feathers have inspired ventilation-quieting systems. The surface texture and boundary-layer-control principles of penguin feathers have made their way into robotics, mostly in prototypes,” writes Michael B. Habib, a paleontologist and biomechanist at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles and the University of California, Los Angeles.
... to the New Guys from The ChatBox V.2 Crew