Flight plans reminiscent of fractals could help hungry birds find food. Albatross sometimes hunt by following a mathematical pattern that repeats itself at smaller and smaller scales, researchers ...

One of the coolest things about the European Journal of Physics is that it publishes examples of physics that can be used as problems and/or examples for teaching classroom physics. Although I will ...

The albatross is one of the most efficient travelers in the animal world. One species, the wandering albatross, can fly nearly 500 miles in a single day, with just an occasional flap of its wings. The ...

Boston, Oct 12 (PTi) MIT scientists have unveiled the key behind the marathon flight of the wandering albatross, which can fly nearly 500 miles in a single day, with just an occasional flap of its ...

San Diego County has such a rich history in aviation, we thought it worth noting that today — June 12, 2012 — is the 33rd anniversary of an historic flight that was made possible, in part, by testing ...

Albatrosses fly fast for huge distances, barely flapping a wing. Can they teach us to build drones that will stay aloft for months or even years? PHILIP RICHARDSON’S eureka moment came in 1997, on the ...

Wandering albatrosses, which are an iconic sight in the Southern Ocean, are highly adapted to long-distance soaring flight. Their wingspan of up to 11 feet is the largest known of any living bird, and ...

Airplane designers are getting new ideas from the albatross, long considered a master of efficient flight. Through a method called dynamic soaring, the bird—with a wingspan of up to 12 feet (3.7 ...

Newswise — The albatross soars with barely a flap by using a trick that may one day allow robotic aircraft to stay aloft for months on end. Since at least the 1920s scientists have wondered how the ...

Engineers have developed a new model to simulate dynamic soaring, and have used it to identify the optimal flight pattern that an albatross should take in order to harvest the most wind and energy.