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Aerodynamics - (Dover Books on Aeronautical Engineering) by Theodore Von Karman (Paperback)
About this item
Highlights
- Authoritative and engaging, this popular history traces the science of aerodynamics from the age of Newton through the mid-twentieth century.
- Author(s): Theodore Von Karman
- 203 Pages
- Technology, Aeronautics & Astronautics
- Series Name: Dover Books on Aeronautical Engineering
Description
About the Book
Charmingly written by a pioneer in aerodynamic research, this reader-friendly volume traces the development of dynamic flight from the Newtonian era through the 20th century. 72 figures. 1957 edition.Book Synopsis
Authoritative and engaging, this popular history traces the science of aerodynamics from the age of Newton through the mid-twentieth century. Author Theodore von Karman, a well-known pioneer in aerodynamic research, addresses himself to readers acquainted with the facts of aviation but less familiar with the field's underlying theories.
A former director of the Aeronautical Laboratory at the California Institute of Technology, von Karman founded the U.S. Institute of Aeronautical Sciences in 1933. In this volume, he employs straightforward, nontechnical language to recount the behind-the-scenes struggles of engineers and physicists with problems associated with lift, drag, stability, aeroelasticity, and the sound barrier. He explains how an increasing understanding of the motion of air and its forces on moving objects enabled significant improvements in airplane design, performance, and safety.
Other topics include the effects of speed on ailerons; the factors behind the phenomenon of a sonic boom; and the plethora of problems surrounding the inception of space travel: surmounting the earth's gravitational field, negotiating a safe return, and sustaining life amid the perils of interstellar radiation, weightlessness, and meteoric activity.