Explore the Magic of Lift!

Bernoulli's Principle & Lift

Lift is the force that opposes weight and holds an object in the air. For an airplane wing (an airfoil), lift comes from the wing turning the airflow downward. Two ways of describing the same physics: by Newton's 3rd Law, pushing air down pushes the wing up; by Bernoulli's Principle, the air speeds up over the top surface, so pressure there is lower than underneath, giving a net upward force – Lift! The angle of attack matters as much as the shape: even a flat plate lifts when tilted. Myth alert: the air over the top does not have to “meet up” with the air underneath at the trailing edge. In reality it arrives even sooner!

What to look for

• Observe the streamlines: Tighter lines mean faster air and lower pressure.
• Increase the Angle of Attack (AoA) too much to witness a Stall, where the airflow becomes turbulent (red particles) and lift is lost.