|
|
|
|
|
|
Resources |
|
|
|
Ludwig Prandtl: The Father of Aerodynamics
| Article
# : |
16357 |
|
|
Section : |
NATURAL SCIENCE
|
| Issue
Date : |
11 / 1997 |
2,534 Words |
| Author
: |
T.R. (Joe) Sundaram
T.R. (Joe) Sundaram owns and operates an engineering research
firm in Columbia, Maryland. He has published widely in both
scientific journals and popular magazines. |
The sleek airplanes that so easily transport us long distances in a short time trace their lineage back not only to Wilbur and Orville, the Wright brothers who pioneered powered flight, but also to the German scientist and engineer Ludwig Prandtl.
Before Prandtl's time, aircraft design had proceeded mainly on an empirical, hit-or-miss basis, with no logical procedures to guide a designer. Prandtl developed the theoretical basis for systematic and sound design by explaining the phenomenology underlying flight and by constructing a conceptually sound, albeit relatively simple, mathematical framework for modeling this phenomenology.
Prandtl was gifted with an uncanny ability to identify the essential elements of a complex practical problem and then to provide simple but effective mathematical models for these elements. He has had few equals in this respect, in either the past or present, and the problems he was able to solve that had baffled even great physicists and mathematicians before him are numerous. A remarkable feature of Prandtl's talent was that once he provided the correct phenomenological explanation to a difficult problem, the explanation appeared almost obvious; yet, this very insight escaped even the best scientific minds before him. Moreover, his unique approach to solving practical problems often provided solutions and understanding that had applications far beyond the specific problem he was addressing.
For example, his concept of a "boundary layer" adjacent to the surface of any body immersed in a flow not only revolutionized wing theory, by explaining the lift and drag forces experienced by a wing, but also found application in
... (1998 of 16627 Characters)
Read Full Article
|
|
