Elias Gonzalez San Juan wrote: > ............. let me > remind you that according to the LAWS of physics, some beetles and bumblebees > would not be able fly because their body weight is too large for their small wings. > Perhaps those insects have never heard about those laws because they do FLY, and > very well indeed. The remark that lead to the myth above has been regreted ever since by the gent who voiced it (can't find my reference at the moment)--- a relatively recent article in New Scientist explains fully the aerodynamics of *impossible* bumble bee flight (again can't find my reference at the moment, apologies :-( ) it apparently has to do with SCALE ie. the aerodynamics of full-size aircraft is not the same as for model aircraft, which is not the same as for micro-size aircraft ie. bees. The magic factor is the so-called reynolds number.(duh!!) The bee/beetle etc can do a trick with its wings that bigger craft cannot - it can cause a form of vortex that increases the amount of lift available for a given wing area that is substantially higher than "conventional aerodynamics" would predict. cheers Tony -- Anthony N Morgan, Førsteammanuensis Institutt for Elektroteknikk Høgskolen i Sør-Trøndelag N-7004 Trondheim, Norway [log in to unmask] Tlf. 73 55 96 04 Fax. 73 55 95 81