aeronautics

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aeronautics Study of flight and the control of aircraft, involving aerodynamics, aircraft structures and methods of propulsion. Aeronautics started with the study of the balloon, which mainly concerned the raising of a load by means of buoyancy. It later included the heavier-than-air flight of gliders, planes, helicopters and rockets. A helicopter utilizes lift provided by a rotor. Gliders and planes use wings to provide lift, but a minimum forward speed is essential to maintain height. A plane is pulled forward by propeller, or is pushed by the reaction forces of expanding gases from one or more jet or rocket engines. The increased speeds of modern aircraft to supersonic (speeds in excess of that of sound, c.1200km/h or 750mph) and the accompanying shock waves this produces has brought changes in wing and fuselage designs to improve streamlining. With hypersonic speeds (in excess of five times the speed of sound or Mach 5), the forces involved again change fundamentally requiring further design adjustments.

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