Review of Flight
Posted: 11 Jul 2021, 03:07
[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Flight" by Francis M. Burrows.]
Flight by Francis M. Burrows is a book that explains the science behind flight and some technology behind human flight. There are several aspects of the science behind flight that need to be kept in mind to understand how some animals, seeds, fruits, spores, and pollen can fly. Some additional aspects concerning technology must be kept in mind to understand how the various types of flying machines can be built. The author describes all those aspects limiting as much as possible the use of formulae, as this is not a college textbook. However, the topics are explained in-depth with the help of a lot of illustrations.
Flight always fascinated humans but only in recent centuries, the development of science enabled to explain it. The attempts to build some kind of flying machine that could carry humans became more sophisticated thanks to a lot of technological developments.
I already had some basic knowledge of some of the physics subjects that explain buoyancy and some of the technologies behind flying machines. However, reading this book, I realized that my knowledge was at a really elementary level. I also learned how some subjects of science and technology are important not only to build flying machines. That's because some scientific and technological subjects are useful in building ships and submarines, from some problems of fluid dynamics to the use of propellers.
I appreciated the thoroughness of this book. Even including only a few formulae, the author explained several scientific principles connected to flight and a brief history of human flight. The chapters about bird flight explained the different geometries that evolved in various species.
The only criticism I have about this book is that, especially in the initial chapters, there are several run-on sentences that sometimes make it more difficult to understand them. The book includes some complex scientific principles and theorems, so on some occasions, the author could do only so much to keep phrases short. However, in my opinion, some of his comments could be expressed better in shorter phrases. A bit more editing might improve those phrases and also correct some errors.
In my opinion, Flight is an excellent book for people who want to really understand flight. It's far from easy, as the author goes quite in-depth with the various subjects. For this reason, some scientific knowledge is recommended to be able to understand those subjects, which means this book is not for young readers despite the absence of sex references and profanity. Teenagers with a passion for science might try it, especially if they're thinking of studying aeronautics in college. The book contains more than 10 errors, so I have to rate it 3 out of 4 stars even if it offers a thorough explanation of what makes flight possible.
******
Flight
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Flight by Francis M. Burrows is a book that explains the science behind flight and some technology behind human flight. There are several aspects of the science behind flight that need to be kept in mind to understand how some animals, seeds, fruits, spores, and pollen can fly. Some additional aspects concerning technology must be kept in mind to understand how the various types of flying machines can be built. The author describes all those aspects limiting as much as possible the use of formulae, as this is not a college textbook. However, the topics are explained in-depth with the help of a lot of illustrations.
Flight always fascinated humans but only in recent centuries, the development of science enabled to explain it. The attempts to build some kind of flying machine that could carry humans became more sophisticated thanks to a lot of technological developments.
I already had some basic knowledge of some of the physics subjects that explain buoyancy and some of the technologies behind flying machines. However, reading this book, I realized that my knowledge was at a really elementary level. I also learned how some subjects of science and technology are important not only to build flying machines. That's because some scientific and technological subjects are useful in building ships and submarines, from some problems of fluid dynamics to the use of propellers.
I appreciated the thoroughness of this book. Even including only a few formulae, the author explained several scientific principles connected to flight and a brief history of human flight. The chapters about bird flight explained the different geometries that evolved in various species.
The only criticism I have about this book is that, especially in the initial chapters, there are several run-on sentences that sometimes make it more difficult to understand them. The book includes some complex scientific principles and theorems, so on some occasions, the author could do only so much to keep phrases short. However, in my opinion, some of his comments could be expressed better in shorter phrases. A bit more editing might improve those phrases and also correct some errors.
In my opinion, Flight is an excellent book for people who want to really understand flight. It's far from easy, as the author goes quite in-depth with the various subjects. For this reason, some scientific knowledge is recommended to be able to understand those subjects, which means this book is not for young readers despite the absence of sex references and profanity. Teenagers with a passion for science might try it, especially if they're thinking of studying aeronautics in college. The book contains more than 10 errors, so I have to rate it 3 out of 4 stars even if it offers a thorough explanation of what makes flight possible.
******
Flight
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon