Superman Science: The Real-World Science Behind Superman's Powers

Superman Science: The Real-World Science Behind Superman's Powers — page 7
Aerodynamic Airfoil Does Superman’s cape hold the secret to his flight powers No But the way it cuts through the air might just give the Man of Steel a little extra lift In the real world the shape of an airplane’s wings is the key to staying airborne Otto Lilienthal with one of his gliders in 1895 The design of the modern airplane wing dates back more than 120 years In the 1890s bird wings inspired German engineer Otto Lilienthal to experiment with airfoils An airfoil is a gently curved blade shape that causes air to move quicker over its top than its bottom This movement creates lower air pressure above the wing to suck it upward Meanwhile the angle of the wing redirects air downward As air is pushed down the wing experiences lift as it is pushed up