Bernoulli's Principal Question?
My physics teacher told us the other day that an airplane flies because of the shape of the wing. He told us that since the air over the top of the wing has to travel a farther distance than the air moving along the bottom, it has to travel at a faster speed to reach the end at the same time. I am wondering why it has to reach it at the same time.
Answers & Comments
Verified answer
You're very sharp to have spotted this. What your physics teacher told you is the commonly-accepted explanation for wing lift, but it has serious flaws.
I recently read of wind tunnel tests that showed the air flowing over the top actually reaches the trailing edge (the 'end') BEFORE the air flowing under.
http://www.av8n.com//how/htm/airfoils.html
I believe there is still some debate about how wings actually generate lift.