Lift
Everyone is familiar with the seemingly supernatural motions and beauty that a Frisbee creates when thrown. Few, however, fully understand how this disk-like object stays in the air for such a long time. The answer to this question is found in the aerodynamics of the Frisbee. When a Frisbee is thrown it must fly through a large amount of air. The faster the Frisbee is thrown the more air the disk must travel through. This is why the Frisbee flies exponentially farther the more force is added. The Frisbee’s shape forces the air to create a force upon the disk. Underneath the Frisbee, air is pushed up creating an area of higher pressure than the air above the Frisbee. According to Bernoulli’s Principle, the high pressure pushes the Frisbee up higher against the lower pressure making it move against the force of gravity. This is an example of Newton’s Third Law of motions because the Frisbee pushes on the air and, in return, the air pushes upon the Frisbee. Eventually, however, as the velocity of the Frisbee decreases the push of the air below the Frisbee becomes less significant causing the Frisbee to fall to the ground. This effect of the air pushing against the Frisbee due to its shape is referred to as lift. The Frisbee’s concave shape forces air to lift it higher from the ground after it is thrown. This force creates the mystifying motions of the Frisbee and allows it to fly long distances.