The Science of Flight and the Paradox of Flying Pterosaurs (The New Science Book 3)

Today there are no flying reptiles. Yet during the Mesozoic era there were gigantic flying reptiles that were much larger than any bird flying today. It would be nice if we could plug data into an aerodynamic equation to tell us if this is or is not a scientific paradox, yet until now there has been no such aerodynamic equation to give a clear answer as to what are the basic requirements for flight. The author derives the core flight equations that determine if a plane or vertebra has adequate power to fly. These are the equations that the aeronautical community has sought for the past 100 years and even before the Wright brothers first flew. They are the Holy Grail of aerodynamics. With these equations it is conclusively shown that the gigantic pterosaurs could not have flown in today’s atmosphere.