John writes:
quote:
This is a bit like swearing bees can't fly because they are too heavy for their wings-- while watching a bee fly.
Before some anti-scientist snatches this up as evidence that scientists are idiots....
It was never said by any scientist that bumblebees can't fly. Instead, it was said that using a rigid-wing analysis, then a bumblebee shouldn't be able to fly. Well sure enough, bumblebees don't have rigid wings.
So the analysis of how they fly took a look at their musculature and it was found that the amount of strength in those muscles wasn't quite enough. But still, no scientist ever said that bubmblebees can't fly. They always said that given our knowledge of the flight dynamics, we're obviously missing something.
That's when the analysis of the vortices produced by the flapping of the wings and it was found that they get a bit of extra lift in this process that provides enough for the to fly.
Scientists are not fools. The reason why they do their work is because they actually observe something and they don't stop poking at it until they can come up with a process that can fully explain what it is they're seeing.
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Rrhain
WWJD? JWRTFM!