A paleontologist, an aeronautical engineer and a cardboard dinosaur meet in a wind tunnel
This sentence may sound like a joke, but for Cohen Stein, a master's student in paleobiology, it was a golden opportunity for innovative and unusual research. Stein took on an extraordinary task: to decipher the form of flight of ancient dinosaurs, which became extinct 225 million years ago. For this he chose to concentrate on an extinct species of reptiles called coenosaurs.
The coenosaurs were first discovered in the 70s, in an ancient cave near Bristol. They reached a length of XNUMX centimeters and intrigued many paleontologists due to the protrusions protruding from the ribs on their bodies. The common knowledge was that these extensions were covered in skin and were used for aviation in some way, but their aerodynamic ability was never tested.
Stein, together with his colleagues from the University of Bristol in England, showed that two types of coenosaurs discovered in Britain were able to function in the air in a different way. Coencosuchus was able to glide through the air using elongated 'wings', while Coenosaurus, which had much shorter 'wings', was only able to glide using them. The two fossil forms resemble each other in many other details, and it is possible that they are actually males and females of the same species.
"We didn't think Cawnosaurus would be particularly effective in the air," says Stein, "but all the work up until now had been speculative, so we decided to build models and test them in the wind tunnel at the Department of Aeronautical Engineering at the University of Bristol."
Stein and his colleagues created different models of the skin folds in the wing area, in order to understand how the creatures could control their course in the air. "We also built hands and feet with membranes, and another membrane between the legs of the models, but these features made the animals' flight unstable, and from this it is suggested that they did not possess them."
From the tests performed on the models, the researchers discovered that the Coenosuchus was aerodynamically stable. According to Stein, jumping from a tree at a height of five meters, this creature was able to glide for a distance of nine meters before landing on the ground. The Coenosaurus, on the other hand, specialized in a direct descent towards the ground.
"This is a fantastic example of interdisciplinary research," said Professor Michael Benton, a member of the research team and Head of Department at Bristol. "Paleontologists are eager to understand how the amazing animals of the past worked, and with the help of the collaboration with aeronautical engineers, we can be sure that the models and calculations are more realistic."
The article, by Cohen Stein, Colin Palmer, Pamela G. Gil and Michael G. Benton was published on July 15, in the scientific journal Palaeontology.
7 תגובות
Qantas:
The truth is that my words were not written without reason.
Do you understand why I wrote them?
Adding three points to the sentence means something like: "Look - there is something much deeper in this sentence than it appears at first glance. I don't have the strength to go into detail, so please think for yourself."
When you add three points to every sentence and sentence fragment you are actually telling us that you don't have the strength to write us what you mean and therefore you expect us to guess it ourselves.
For $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
If only you knew.. how enlightened your words are..
Well... the revival………………………………………………………………!
Qantas:
I will answer all the points you raised one by one. I will not refer to the link sections that seem less important to me.
you say: …
My response!!!
Or so you say: ...
And I reply to that: ???
Later you state that: ...
And in my opinion it is more correct to say: ;;;
According to you, it follows that:..
And I do agree that:
According to you later: …
I think it's right to respond like this:
And when after that you claim that:…
I answer that:-+=
You specify that:
And in my opinion, rather:
Then you state that: ... ... when it is clear to everyone that the second point on the right here is the central point because there are 20 points before it and twenty after it.
Therefore, it seems to me that it is better to claim that: -*- —
There is something in your claim that: ..
Therefore, in order not to enter into an unnecessary debate, I also say that:..
your following claims: … … .. … …
I would prefer it to be worded like this: &&& $$$ )) ^^^ *^%
To Roy, Adam, Matan and Ami....thanks for the information....and the ventilation...
To Meir and Yehuda.. Thank you in the other context.
Michael... your pepper is really needed... as far as it is customary for us
To empty the cup, from time to time…….and fill..with something more...even if archaic...
And good..even if fresh....and cheeky...
Summary:
"This is a fantastic example of interdisciplinary research," said Professor Michael Benton, a member of the research team and Head of Department at Bristol. "Paleontologists are eager to understand how the amazing animals of the past worked, and with the help of the collaboration with aeronautical engineers we can be sure that the models and calculations are more realistic."
Wonderful
two questions?
How is he doing a master's degree and he looks like 15 years old
And what is his first name Cohen or Stein because both are Jewish family names
I assume that during the daya the dinosaur would have attached its four legs to the sides of the body to reduce the drag.
And not as you see in the picture.