NationStates Jolt Archive

Estimating the Airspeed Velocity of an Unladen Swallow (http://www.style.org/unladenswallow/) (linky - go read it)

Hashing out the classic question with Strouhal numbers and simplified flight waveforms.
by Jonathan Corum


After spending some time last month trying to develop alternate graphic presentations for kinematic ratios in winged flight, I decided to try to answer one of the timeless questions of science: just what is the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow?

What do you mean, an African or European Swallow?

To begin with, I needed basic kinematic data on African and European swallow species.

Although 47 of the 74 worldwide swallow species are found in Africa,1 only two species are named after the continent: the West African Swallow (Hirundo domicella) and the South African Swallow (Hirundo spilodera), also known as the South African Cave Swallow.

Since the range of the South African Swallow extends only as far north as Zaire,2 I felt fairly confident that this was the non-migratory African species referred to in previous discussions of the comparative and cooperative weight-bearing capabilities of African and European swallows.3

Kinematic data for both African species was difficult to find, but the Barn or European Swallow (Hirundo rustica) has been studied intensively, and kinematic data for that species was readily available.

It’s a simple question of weight ratios...

And you thought they were joking... :p

Far be it from me to pointout any lapses in the logical flow, but I feel the following theories must also be factored:

We must consider the displacement potential of a fully developed coconut - could the swallow, whatever specie, have ridden the coconut from tropical climes, via one of the prevailing currents, to the shores of southwestern England (given that the "historical" Arthur was most likely from Cornwal, in south western England, this can't be discounted out of hand).

Do we know, from any archeological evidence, that it was actually a coconut being used, and not a malformed walnut suffering from a botanical gigantism?

It was only postulated, orginally, that the coconut may have been carried (or vice-versa!) by a swallow. Given our more modern knowledge of the migratory practices of the creatures of the world, can we discount the "swallow theory" and put forth a candidate known to migrate vast distances - the Monarch Butterfly.

Could the coconut be, in fact, the remains of a locally grown variety, in place since before plate tectonics moved England into the Temperate zone?

Alien Coconut Abduction and Relocation
— Gary Cooper

...Damn you, Monty Python, damn you!