Gliders are airplanes without engines, and they have been commonplace in the aviation industry for more than 120 years. Indeed, gliders predated the 1903 Wright Flyer. They are also nice, relatively simple planes that freshmen aerospace engineering students can investigate. My Introduction to Aerospace Engineering class had its own glider project last semester, and I … [Read more...] about Gliding Flight
Archives for April 2022
The History of: Folgers Coffee
We know that Folgers has been one of the leaders in the Instant Coffee market for decades now, but what we don’t know is the history of the brand itself. The Folgers Coffee story starts all the way back in 1850 in San Francisco. After a major fire destroyed the Folgers’ family livelihood, James and his brothers moved to San Francisco during the Gold Rush. His brothers headed to … [Read more...] about The History of: Folgers Coffee
Contemplating the Penis Bone: A Case for Basic Science
When I am asked what kind of research my lab conducts, I try not to immediately talk about the penis bone. I begin by saying I study genetics or evolutionary biology. If pressed, I specify that my project revolves around bone development. In the few cases where someone asks for details, I resignedly inform them that my specific work centers around the development and evolution … [Read more...] about Contemplating the Penis Bone: A Case for Basic Science
VR in Pain Therapy: Qualifying the Argument
There are two qualifications I would like to make to the argument for use of virtual reality in pain therapy. First, research has shown that VR on its own is not as effective, nor as immersive as it could potentially be. To have the best results for patients, it has been shown that pairing VR therapy with binaural audio is the most effective. A study by the name of … [Read more...] about VR in Pain Therapy: Qualifying the Argument
Lift and Drag: A Deeper Dive Part 2
Last week, we saw how we can approximate an airplane’s lift coefficient at any small angle of attack. Now, we can zoom in on drag, looking at how the drag coefficient depends on the lift coefficient and how this information can further inform aerospace engineers on how to design planes. It turns out that an airplane's drag coefficient, CD, has a quadratic relationship … [Read more...] about Lift and Drag: A Deeper Dive Part 2