Birds flap their wings while landing even though it costs energy; a new physics model found a pigeon-sized bird would need more than twice its cruising speed and roughly 60 metres to stop without flapping
Have you ever pondered the physics of the bird? In the mobile game Flappy Bird, the bird’s problem is not flying forward, it is staying airborne. Every tap buys a little lift, every pause lets gravity pull it down. Real birds face a harder version of that challenge when they land. They must shed speed,…
