The Technology Behind Hovering: Humming Birds and Bats

The human mind has always been fascinated by the idea of flying from the ancient ages. It is a magical phenomenon that humans want to achieve. The ability to levitate without any contact technique has made scientist pour over experiments. The primary urge to levitate and to remain suspended at a place once thought to be pure science fiction is now almost a science reality.

How is it possible to levitate and hover? A magnet that has sufficiently strong magnetic field can exert enough concentrated force on an object to counteract the force of gravity that is actively trying to pull it down. However, that leaves us with a question, what about bodies that are non magnetic? Well that too can be achieved. Non-magnetic objects can attain levitation through sound, optical, aerodynamic and electrical fields.

The problem with most hover technologies that are in existence is that they are able to work well only within carefully structured environments and not in open air.

The fascination has driven scientist to carry their extremely sensitive pieces of lab equipment to the forest of Costa Rica, where they in collaboration with ecologists are trying to study the ways of more than hundred different humming birds and bats to learn more how these wonders of nature manage to hover.

Every morning at sunrise these enthusiastic researchers trek into the forest where they have set up nearly invisible and delicate nets to catch the regions abundant humming birds and bats.

Through use of extremely sensitive high speed cameras that have been set up the team of researchers have found that the humming birds and the bats hover in different ways. However, they also found similarities in hovering between nectar bats and humming birds whilst the fruit bats hovered in a different manner. It was seen that the humming birds were more aerodynamically efficient than the bats and generated more lift relative to drag as the humming birds were able to invert their wings more easily. However, though the fruit bats do face some struggle turning over their wings but they were able to exert more energy due to the bigger wings and larger strokes.  On the other hand the nectar bats are able to twist their wings more efficiently in comparison to the fruit bats on the up stroke.

By: Madhuchanda Saxena

Content: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/09/180926140837.htm