![]() 03/08/2020 at 20:18 • Filed to: None | ![]() | ![]() |
R. J. Mitchell designer of the Spitfire wanted flush rivets rather than the easier dome rivets but came up against resistance, so he did an experiment and found the Spitfire could fly 20knots faster with flush rivets, rather than dome rivets.
![]() 03/08/2020 at 20:39 |
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It’s amazing what you can discover when you bother to model the problem instead of making assumptions.
I’m reminded of the space shuttle, when foam falling off the external tank was assumed to be relatively harmless until someone actually conducted the experiment to prove otherwise.
(And no, I don’t mean the orbital experiment. That was a dark, dark day.)
![]() 03/08/2020 at 20:40 |
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riveting
![]() 03/08/2020 at 20:46 |
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When I apply to use mice in my research, I have to justify why I couldn’t model the system on a computer. Same reason. Reality contains variables that we cannot factor in because we don’t know what they are.
![]() 03/08/2020 at 21:19 |
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Ye’, I think the same when ever I watch the Dambusters and how Barnes Wallace came up with the idea and execution of the bouncing bomb to blow up some dams in WWII. How he proved it to the War Ministry.
![]() 03/08/2020 at 21:42 |
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In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice....
![]() 03/08/2020 at 22:09 |
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You can model this on a drag polar by factoring in what is called standard roughness
![]() 03/08/2020 at 22:11 |
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I’d never heard of him or the bombs, thanks.
Also tied to Planelopnik, he helped develop the swing- wing design that made this possible: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panavia_Tornado
![]() 03/08/2020 at 22:30 |
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Have some music to go with your post!
![]() 03/08/2020 at 22:38 |
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((correction, Barnes Wallis, not Barnes Wallace))
The Dambusters, in short. German dams were protected by anti torpedo netting, but even then getting an ex plosive charge to the dam wall wouldn’t do much damage unless you could get the explosive to the base of the dam and use the water pressure at the base in tandem with the explosive charge to blow the dam. Barnes Wallis created the bouncing bomb that would bounce over the anti torpedo netting, then as it sinks it’s still spinning causing it to hug the wall of the dam, once it got down to a set depth, it’d trigger the explosive to blow.
Actual footage from a German officer during the war.
![]() 03/08/2020 at 22:42 |
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So majestic and graceful.
![]() 03/10/2020 at 21:08 |
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The challenger space experiment as it's often called