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The flight engineers look with envy upon the nocturnal owl. You know why? It is because of its silent flight. According to the National Geographic Website, no other birds fly with such stealth. What is the owl’s secret?

Consider this fact:
The air that rushes over the feathers of most birds creates a turbulence that can be quite noisy. But with the owl on the other hand, it is different. Its trailing feathers have fringes that break up the sound waves that are generated as air flows over the top of the wings at the down-stroke. The downy feathers found elsewhere on the owl’s body help absorb the remaining sound.

Aircraft designers would like to tap into the secret of the owl’s virtually silent flight. Quieter airplanes would mean that airports with stringent noise limits could allow flights to take off and land at later hours of the night---and earlier hours of the morning. Some improvements are already being planned. According to Geoffrey Lilley, the professor of emeritus of aeronautics at England University of Southampton, they are just now coming along with this technology. He added that it could be a decade more before the birth of that technology of quiet airplanes could be designed.

What do you think, how great is this owl’s feature?
Was the owl’s secret of noise-reducing trailing feather a product of chance? Or was it really designed to be by the Creator?

Thanks to:
Long-eared owl: © Joe Mc-Donald/Visuals Unlimited
Barn Owl Sequence © Andy Harmer/Photo Researchers Inc.
Feather Comparison: Courtesy of Eike Wulfmeyer/Wikimedia/GFDL
Awake! Edition: December 2009

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Published 2 years 7 weeks ago
Category: Technology | Tags: | Referrer: cheekykea

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Related links about The Owl's Feathers :
1. Owl Feathers and Flight - The Owl Pages
2. HowStuffWorks "Owls' Feathers and Wing Structure"
3. Owl - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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