Whilst sat using my laptop in the living room, I just bet with my friend that with the internet in front of me I could answer any question he asked. The question he asked:
How big would an indian elephant's ears have to be to generate enough lift by flapping them to fly?
So I need to find this out. And I have an idea how... if you work out the weight of an average house fly, and the surface area of its wings, then apply that proportionately to the weight of an indian elephant, I could work out how big the ears would have to be. For simplicity, I'm assuming the elephant would beat its ears at the same rate as the fly.
Trouble is I cant find the information needed, so help!
Cheers!
How big would an indian elephant's ears have to be to generate enough lift by flapping them to fly?
So I need to find this out. And I have an idea how... if you work out the weight of an average house fly, and the surface area of its wings, then apply that proportionately to the weight of an indian elephant, I could work out how big the ears would have to be. For simplicity, I'm assuming the elephant would beat its ears at the same rate as the fly.
Trouble is I cant find the information needed, so help!
Cheers!