Flying With Wings

[Zachary Smith]

I'm wondering if it might be possible to build a large sealed dome-type structure and increase the atmospheric pressure within to a level where it had the density to allow a human being to FLY with some strap-on wings. Could a person be comfortable at an atmospheric pressure that allowed him to lift off the ground or glide by flapping a pair of wings that gave him maybe a 12 foot wing-span (six-feet wing to either side)? It is possible to create an atmosphere dense enough without injuring or killing a person? What are the implication for entering and leaving such a chamber and returning to normal environmental pressures?

I can think of no practical applications here, just entertainment. If some enterprising CEO wanted to make a fortune, he could build a sports arena sized dome and rent or sell strap-on wings where people could soar like Hawk-man (though I imagine the wings would need to be worked with the ARMS and not the shoulders) as a new sporting sensation.

Is such a thing even possible?

 

[All Seeing Eye]

Is such a thing even possible?

I hope so!

 

[Alpha_Geek]

No idea how much pressure you'd have to get to for enough "bite" on a set of wings to get lift. For a reference point, consider how much mobility you have in water.

If it's possible to get an atmosphere thick enough to achieve lift in the manner described, there are a few things to consider. The first is pressure. Entering the environment, I have no idea. Exiting the environment would put you pretty much in the same types of stress as described in the "Partial Vacuum" thread currently going.

Another factor to consider would be the ability of the gas mix to support life. Oxygen toxicity can begin to occur at a partial pressure of 9.4psi, so the mix must not exceed that partial pressure of O2.

There are probably other factors as well, but that's as far as my training as a mixed gas diver can take you.

 

[Lindley]

Why not just try hang-gliding?

 

[Jadzia]

Increasing the density will affect the way the air flows around the wings. The air flow isn't always as one might anticipate. The figure you want to look at is the Reynold's Number. This figure is predictive of the aerodynamics when considering changes to one variable in the system, such as the normal air density in your case.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reynolds_number

 

[Zachary Smith]

Increasing the density will affect the way the air flows around the wings. The air flow isn't always as one might anticipate. The figure you want to look at is the Reynold's Number. This figure is predictive of the aerodynamics when considering changes to one variable in the system, such as the normal air density in your case.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reynolds_number

*heh* SOMEONE might want to look at the Reynolds number. It ain't me though. All I can tell you is that page was in english. Whatever else it might or might not have said is beyond me.

 

[Zachary Smith]

Why not just try hang-gliding?

Rocks are hard?