photo credit: NASA; image source

Wing Vortex Wake

This photo (hi-res version) shows the vortex wake behind a small propeller plane.  To learn more about this photo, visit Wing Vortex Wake.

For more on wing vortices, and the danger they can pose to small planes following large ones, see the US Centennial of Flight Commission's Wing Vortices and Wikipedia's Wingtip Vortices. For an illustrated study of the Boeing 747's wing vortices, see NASA's Boeing 747.

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Build an Air Cannon

You can build your own "vortex generator" with just a few simple, household materials.  The Rochester Museum and Science Center's Science Experiment of the Week: Air Cannon shows how to build an air cannon from a plastic bottle, clip wrap, and rubber bands--just be sure to have an adult working with you.  There are even experiments that you can do with your new cannon.  

This feature was updated on July 6, 2009.

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photo credit: Yakov Afanasyev; image source

Model of Insect Wings' Wake Vortex

This photo (hi-res version) shows the wake of an insect model towed in water, with magnetic forces simulating the effect of the insect's beatings wings. To learn more, visit Yakov Afanasyev, Memorial University of Newfoundland (and scroll down). For a different kind of investigation of insect flight, see Michael Dickinson's Fly-o-Rama, which includes a robotic fly and a flight simulator for flies.

Vortices Image Gallery

To see some interesting images of vortices, visit Image Gallery-Vortices from the University of Iowa.