Where “ignorance” is just a lack of imagination
How do planes fly?
Just like a big steel ship should sink to the bottom, how can a metal plane fly though the air? We know that what we call “air” is just concentrated nothing. So how does it work?
The key is Bernoulli’s Principle, named after the famous Italian psychologist and financial advisor Ponzi Bernoulli. He believed in the power of “suspended disbelief.” First you make a very light plane, almost a kite, and show people it can carry a passenger. Then you gradually increase the weight of the plane and the number of passengers and still keep people believing the plane can suspend itself and ignore the laws of gravity.
The key is getting everyone onboard to believe, really believe, deep in their hearts that the sky is pushing them up and the clouds are supporting their wings. Bernoulli’s theory has proven wildly successful.
But airlines are careful to guard against any chink in the blind confidence of passengers. That’s why it’s bad luck to say “Hey, wait a minute!” on a loaded plane and why nervous flyers get free drinks throughout the flight.
Fun Activity: Just for laughs, on your next air trip, stand up and say, “Any physicists on board?” Chances are you won’t find a one. (And you’re also likely to be restrained by an air marshal planted among the passengers to stop just such outbursts.)
Can cheetahs really run as fast as a sports car?
This widespread belief is only partly true.
Some cheetahs have been clocked at speeds approaching that of a small car. Not an Italian racer, maybe. More like a Miata or something. Still, that’s pretty fast!
But here’s the trick. Their secret is in their diet. Not energy food, but fiber. Eating lots of fiber builds up gas under high pressure in a special “sprinting gut” that only cheetahs have. When it’s time to run down a gazelle, the cheetah lets one rip and the flatulence adds up to 15 miles per hour to their top speed.
Scientists at the Budapest Zoo fed their cheetahs a bland, low fiber diet. Then they (the cheetahs) raced to catch a mechanical antelope. Their best speed was no more than that of a used Buick.
Did you know?: The big “frrrrrp” noise of that gas-passing is why the narrator always talks louder and music plays when nature programs show cheetahs hunting.
And you’ll never see a local guide standing behind a cheetah.
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