Psychedelic glowing wings give planes a lift

Sandrine Ceurstemont, editor, New Scientist TV

You could soon see glowing objects in the sky: psychedelic planes are being developed. The aim is better aerodynamics, though, rather than messing with your mind.

Plasma, which makes neon lights glow, can also create jets of air to help propel small planes when generated over wings. In this video, captured by Navid Nayeri and colleagues at the Technical University of Berlin, Germany, the effect on the airflow is visible on a test wing as it extinguishes the flame from a lighter. Another clip, captured in a wind tunnel, shows how ionised gas can help regain lift. The wing is placed at a high angle of attack, a position in which it often experiences loss of lift. But the flow is excited when the plasma is turned on, allowing the wing to rise up again. The wing is loosely mounted in this demo to make the difference in lift visible.

In addition to its use in planes, plasma could also help reduce drag in cars or wind turbines. For more about the aerodynamic effect of "ion winds", read our feature, "Glow planes: Plasmas take the drag out of air travel".

If you enjoyed this post, watch a video that debunks the common misconception of how wings create lift or check out a new plasma engine that could power trips to Mars.

Source: http://feeds.newscientist.com/c/749/f/10897/s/297115e9/l/0L0Snewscientist0N0Cblogs0Cnstv0C20A130C0A30Cpsychedelic0Eplasma0Ewings0Bhtml0Dcmpid0FRSS0QNSNS0Q20A120EGLOBAL0Qonline0Enews/story01.htm

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