Fluid mechanics was my jam before my software engineer days! Unfortunately, I think the FAA strict regulations will prevent any of the good innovations. But you can do this thing called flow control where you can control where the boundary layer detaches on the wing. You can achieve different L/D ratios and save a TON of fuel cost. NASA supposedly was going to try it on the X-37B but civilians never knew if they did or not.
Your browser can probably provide a reasonable translation on demand from a nearby service. FF on Linux does, so surely whatever you are rocking can manage it too.
Yes I am aware that it is the year 2026 but I don't use Firefox and there is no way to translate it. Last time I checked HN is still an English language public square, while there's instances of different languages used its more often for the comments.
Fluid mechanics was my jam before my software engineer days! Unfortunately, I think the FAA strict regulations will prevent any of the good innovations. But you can do this thing called flow control where you can control where the boundary layer detaches on the wing. You can achieve different L/D ratios and save a TON of fuel cost. NASA supposedly was going to try it on the X-37B but civilians never knew if they did or not.
Discussed previously (132 comments):
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48260117
Australian company Mako has been applying ribbed micro-surfaces to aeroplanes for a few years now, with extremely promising results.
They talk about reducing skin friction drag but due to the translation I'm not sure if that's what this article is referring to as well.
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-fluid-mec...
https://archive.ph/sFjKf
https://www.wired.com/story/a-fundamental-principle-of-aeron...
43% less friction means 43% of fuel saved. Am I reading that right because it will change the world if true.
Not quite.
- The 43% is peak drag reduction in the transition zone only, the bit between laminar and turbulent flow, not across all flight conditions.
- Aerodynamic drag is one part of fuel burn, not a 1:1 proxy. There's also engine efficiency, etc.
- This is skin friction drag on a wind tunnel model, not a full aircraft which has extra bits like windscreen wipers.
I still think it's exciting but I reckon fuel savings would amount to a few percent (aeronautical engineers, please correct me if I'm wrong).
A 43% drag reduction is massive if this is applicable to modern planes.
Are we just expected to understand Japanese ? There's no English version
Its 2026.
Your browser can probably provide a reasonable translation on demand from a nearby service. FF on Linux does, so surely whatever you are rocking can manage it too.
There are lots more options.
Yes I am aware that it is the year 2026 but I don't use Firefox and there is no way to translate it. Last time I checked HN is still an English language public square, while there's instances of different languages used its more often for the comments.
The article caters to the majority of hn users that use a browser that automatically translates the article. Chrome on Android certainly did.
You are the minority demanding to be catered to.
I think it is against the spirit of this community to suppress exciting content on the basis of its language.
This community is also undoubtedly composed of the kind of problem solver that can overcome this kind of hurdle.