The study of airflow and its principles. Applied aerodynamics is the science of improving man-made objects in light of those principles.
The design of an airplane's wing when seen from the end, a shape intended to maximize the aircraft's response to airflow.
The orientation of the airfoil with regard to the airflow, or the angle that the chord line forms with the direction of the air stream.
A proposition, credited to Swiss mathematician and physicist Daniel Bernoulli (1700-1782), which maintains that slower-moving fluid exerts greater pressure than faster-movingfluid.
The enhanced curvature on the upper surface of an airfoil.
The distance, along an imaginary straight line, from the stagnation point of an airfoil to the rear, or trailing edge.
The force that opposes the forward motion of an object in airflow.
A term describing a streamlined flow, in which all particles move at the same speed and in the same direction. Its opposite is turbulent flow.
An aerodynamic force perpendicular to the direction of the wind. For an aircraft, lift is the force that raises it off the ground and keeps it aloft.
The tendency of an aircraft in flight to rotate forward or backward; see also yaw and roll.
The tendency of an aircraft in flight to rotate vertically on the axis of its fuselage; see also pitch and yaw.
The spot where airflow hits the leading edge of an airfoil.
Faster than Mach 1, or the speed of sound—660 MPH (1,622km/h). Speeds above Mach 5 are referred to as hypersonic.
A term describing a highly irregular form of flow, in which a fluid is subject to continual changes in speed and direction. Its opposite is laminar flow.
The internal friction in a fluid that makes it resistant to flow.
The tendency of an aircraft in flight to rotate on a horizontal plane; see also Pitch and Roll.
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