Komponen gaya aerodinamik ke atas ular lebih besar daripada bobotnya sendiri.
Indra Darmawan
Jum'at, 17 Desember 2010, 10:04 WIB
VIVAnews - Bagi seseorang yang menderita Ophidiophobia (fobi terhadap ular), ular jenis Chrysopelea mungkin merupakan mimpi terburuk mereka.Pasalnya, ular ini tak cuma bisa mendekati mangsa dengan merayap, melainkan juga bisa terbang di udara.
Menurut situs Discovery, para peneliti telah berhasil menjelaskan bagaimana ular-ular Chrysopelea bisa melayang hingga setinggi 80 feet atau 24 meter, di antara pepohonan habitatnya di Asia Tenggara dan Asia Selatan.
Para pakar biologi dari Virgina Tech telah meneliti ular-ular ini dengan menerjunkan mereka dari menara-menara yang tingginya lebih dari 49 feet atau 15 meter, dan merekam setiap gerakan yang mereka lakukan.
Ular ini terbang bukan dengan menentang gravitasi atau melakukan hal lain. Tapi magnitudo gaya yang dihasilkan ular ini memang mengejutkan. Aksi 'akrobatik' ini, ternyata bisa dilakukan dengan menggunakan tubuh ular yang aerodinamis.
"Bagian tubuh ular yang melintang, membentuk sesuatu yang biasanya dijumpai pada sebuah sayap tipikal. Kami tak mengira menemukan kinerja aerodinamik yang demikian baik," kata Jake Socha, peneliti riset ini.
Ular mampu mengangkat tubuh mereka dengan memanfaatkan kombinasi kelebihan bentuk tubuh dengan sudut yang ia ambil ketika menjemput angin, atau diketahui dengan istilah sudut serangan, kata Socha.
Misalnya saja, untuk lepas landas dari sebuah pohon, ular-ular ini menjatuhkan bagian depan tubuh mereka sehingga membentuk postur seperti huruf 'J', sebelum kemudian melompat dan berakselerasi untuk melayang.
Oleh karenanya, ular akan terangkat naik, walaupun kemudian akan tetap jatuh ke tanah, karena komponen gaya aerodinamik ke atas akan lebih besar daripada bobotnya sendiri.
Secara hipotetis, bila ular terus dalam kondisi seperti itu, mereka akan terus terangkat ke atas dan terbang. "Namun, model yang kami buat memperlihatkan bahwa efek aerodinamis yang dihasilkan ular hanya sesaat," Socha menerangkan.
Model tersebut, juga membantu para peneliti menjelaskan teknik melayang dari berbagai spesies lain seperti beberapa kodok, kadal, semut, ikan, dan ikan cumi-cumi.
Di masa depan, penelitian ini mungkin juga akan bermanfaat untuk memperbaiki kendaraan udara kecil, misalnya pesawat tak berawak dengan menduplikasikan metode efisiensi energi dari binatang-binatang ini.
SNAKE CAN FLY IN THE AIR
For someone who suffers Ophidiophobia (phobia of snakes), snakes Chrysopelea type is probably the worst nightmare mereka.Pasalnya, these snakes do not just get close to prey by crawling, but can also fly in the air.
According to the Discovery site, the researchers have succeeded in explaining how the snakes Chrysopelea can float up to as high as 80 feet or 24 meters, between the trees habitat in Southeast Asia and South Asia.
The biologist from Virginia Tech has been researching these snakes by dropping them from the towers of a height over 49 feet or 15 meters, and record every move they do.
This snake is not to oppose gravity flying or doing other things. But the magnitude of the force produced by the snake is indeed surprising. Action 'acrobatics' is, it can be done by using the snake's body aerodynamics.
This snake is not to oppose gravity flying or doing other things. But the magnitude of the force produced by the snake is indeed surprising. Action 'acrobatics' is, it can be done by using the snake's body aerodynamics.
"The body of a snake that transverse, forming something that is usually found on a typical wing. We did not expect to find such a good aerodynamic performance," said Jake Socha, a researcher of this research.
Snakes able to lift their bodies by utilizing a combination of excess body shape with a corner which he took when the winds pick up, or known by the term angle of attack, said Socha.
For example, to take off from a tree, these snakes down the front of their bodies to form a posture like the letter 'J', before then jumps and accelerated to flying.
Therefore, the snake will be lifted up, even then would still fall to the ground, because the upward component of aerodynamic force will be greater than its own weight.
Hypothetically, if the snake kept in such conditions, they will continue to lift up and fly. "However, the model that we made showed that the aerodynamic effects generated only for a moment the snake," Socha explained.
Therefore, the snake will be lifted up, even then would still fall to the ground, because the upward component of aerodynamic force will be greater than its own weight.
Hypothetically, if the snake kept in such conditions, they will continue to lift up and fly. "However, the model that we made showed that the aerodynamic effects generated only for a moment the snake," Socha explained.
The model, also help researchers explain drifting techniques from a variety of other species such as some frogs, lizards, ants, fish, squid and fish. In the future, this research may also be useful to fix a small air vehicles, such as unmanned aircraft by duplicating the method of energy efficiency of these animals.
