You will need:
- A large tub full of water
- Pen and paper
Bees are industrious little insects which work hard in their honeycombs. But there has always been a debate in the science world on whether bees can really fly. Find out with this simple experiment.
INSTRUCTIONS
- Put your hands in the tub of water and move them at an angle in slow long strokes, the way a bird’s wings flap in flight.
- Note down how far your hand lifts and moves in the water.
- Next, put your hand in the tub of water again and try short rapid strokes which are 4-5 times the width of your hands.
- Note down how it feels.
RESULT
When you move your hand in slow long strokes, you will feel a very small amount of lift in the water. However, when you move your hands in short rapid strokes and keeping changing direction in the water, your hand will get an extra lift due to the high pressure under the hand creating a large amount of lift. If a plane was shaped like a bee, with its weight, it would fall flat. However, bees flap their wings extremely fast. But since that is not enough to keep it in the air, the wings are also at an angle, which deflects a large amount of air downwards. Lastly, bees keep changing the direction of their wings which makes them hit the moving air giving them an extra lift.
