Birds + No Gravity = ?

[Kurt_]

Would birds be able to fly (not float) in the absense of gravity? Not the absense of air or anything, just gravity. Let's assume there's somle miracle keeping Earth's atmosphere intact, but gravity wasn't present. NO Intermolecular forces of attraction in the air or such either. But there was a bird.

Would it be able to flap it's wings and fly? Or would it simply float around and move chaotically when it flapped it's wings?

[gamer2]

That is a question worthy of briner (one of my teachers)

[sam fisher]

Are you assuming that you are just in a gravity free area or that Newtons laws are false.

If the bird was in a zero G zone then it could still move its wings. However this is because it can use its bones as an anchor and you have to take into account that every action has an ewual and opposite reaction. Meaning unless the bird was skill at swimming it would probably just end up spinning it self faster and faster. Also it would have to face down at 0 degreees and flap its wings just a few times at most. It would then be facing down but not moving in a direction 90 degrees from the way it is facing. facing its trajectory could be extremely difficult.

If you say that gravity does not exist however then that makes newtons laws false and his every action has an equal and opposite reaction false. There fore the bird could not move :p

[Sir Games-A-Lot]

Would it be able to flap it's wings and fly? Or would it simply float around and move chaotically when it flapped it's wings?

I'm not sure, but it would seem logical that since a bird's ability to fly is meant for an envioronemt with gravity, then it would not be able to fly in an envirnment without gravity.

[sam fisher]

If it had sufficient mental power to understand what was going on it sort of could. Chances are it wouldnt be able to adapt though.

[sam fisher]

Well if there was no intermolecular forces then it would not be able to breath as it would not affect the air outside even if it had a vacuum in its lungs.

[Xiro]

well if there is no gravity it couldnt fly. picture a human floating on a rocket ship, can he just kick his feet and fly? no. in true 0 gravity there would be no air pressure and thus he wouldnt even be pushing air out of the way. he might be able to flail and move a little but you have to push off of something to move. Also, consider being on a planet with no gravity, if you jumped you would never stop. If the moon had no gravity at all and an astronaut jumped, he would never come back down or stop, because space is a vacuum and there would be no friction

[sam fisher]

I fail to see why zero G would have no air pressure. Zero G does not really require a vacuum. Its complicated to explain.

[NES_fanatic]

When it flapped it's wings a tree would fall in a forest with nobody there and make the sound of one hand clapping.

[Kurt_]

I said if there was a mircale holding the air together. Let's assume it's at STP.

I would think it would still be able to. Think about how a plane works. The air on top of the wing moves faster than the air below, and the difference in pressure forces the plane upwards. So the bird (assuming it had a starting speed other than 0) would rise due to the pressure differences, but because of the lack of gravity it wouldn't remain straight, since a plane/bird is designed in such a way as the center of GRAVITY wouldnt exist in the absense of it.

I still don't know though.

[Sparkfist]

Ok here's the best why to explain why a bird could fly in zero gravity. Can a rocket or a rocket propelled aircraft move in space? Yes it can and so a bird will as well.

A bird can still use the movement of it's wings through the air to move and stir where it wants to go. Unlike us humans who if we try to fly in a zero gravity enviorment we move in one direction it's either hard or impossible to change the direction we are traveling.

[Gamelver]

Sparkfist said it all, really ...

anyway, as long as there's some change in momentum or something like that (pushing the air away, for example) the bird will go forward. Now, remember that it's impossible for there to be NO gravity with matter, but we'll call it negligible for now .

[Krepticor]

here is the deal flight is defined as the use of airpressure and aerodynamics toe obtain lift

So by definition birds would not fly in zero G

However if they liveed in an environment with air... (ie a closed environment with air pressure like a space shuttle) the wings could be used to manipulate the air around them by creating a frictional force with the air and could manuver

In short take collegic calculus based physics and listen to every word the professor says

[bicostp]

Here's what I think would happen.

The bird would be able to fly without gravity. The feathers on a bird's wings are designed to let air pass through on the upstroke and resist it on the downstroke, providing some lift. Some birds need to work to remain aloft, but with gravity absent it would not have to. It woudln't be "flying", per se, but it could easily control its coasting.

By the way, I poll-ified this because it's an interesting puzzle.

[gamemasterAS]

yes because there that cool.