Both the construction of a flying machine as the natural evolution of a flying creature, there is pressure to maximize efficiency. A new analysis by biologists, physicists and engineers reveals the degree to subtle but important pressure that has shaped the wings of bats.
The observations and calculations that this group of specialists has shown that bats made by flexing their wings inward during the upward movement made by the wing, using only 65 percent of the inertial energy that would use if they keep their wings fully extended. Unlike insects, bats have wings heavy and muscular with flexible joints similar to those of a hand.
The study, conducted by the team of Sharon Swartz, Kenneth Breuer, Attila Bergou and Daniel Riskin, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, United States, suggests that bats use their flexibility to compensate for the mass.
The mass of the wing is important but often overlooked in analyzes of flight efficiency. They typically take more account of the air lift and drag, and set aside the measurement of the energy needed to move the wings.
It was always thought that bats only flex in the wings to move up to reduce drag exerted by the air. While obviously this way of flexing the wings reduces this resistance, the evolutionary significance of this feature of the technique of flying bats do not appear to be both the aerodynamic issue itself, but the energy savings from it.
The results of the reinvestigation you learn more about the intricacies of flying bats and some birds. And also could have applications for designing small flying robots that instead of behaving like airplanes or helicopters to achieve greater efficiency flexible wings beating, in imitation of bats. The potential scope is not mere speculation, as evidenced by the fact that research has supported the USAF (U.S. Air Force).
The key is that a heavy vehicle with wings that should not fly at very large can benefit much in terms of energy saving the wings flex inward to move upward.