Speaker 1: Welcome to Brainstuff, a production of iHeartRadio, Hey brain Stuff
Speaker 1: Lauren Vogelbaum. Here a few creatures are surrounded by as
Speaker 1: much myth and mystery as the owl. Sometimes they're marked
Speaker 1: as ominous, portance of death and hardship, sometimes symbols of
Speaker 1: wisdom and prudence. From ancient texts to modern fantasy movies,
Speaker 1: owls have captivated us with their fierce hunting capabilities, striking appearance,
Speaker 1: nocturnal habits, and near silent power of flight across the globe.
Speaker 1: Legends developed around them. Some Hindu cultures associate the owl
Speaker 1: with the goddess Lakshmi and consider it a symbol of
Speaker 1: luck and prosperity. The Greek goddess of wisdom Athena, offered
Speaker 1: special protection to the owl as her favorite feathered friend.
Speaker 1: As a result, many owls lived the acropolis. The stealthy
Speaker 1: owl was also seen as protector of Greek armies. Owl
Speaker 1: imagery often decorated warrior's shields, and some said that seeing
Speaker 1: an owl before a battle signaled a triumph to come.
Speaker 1: The Dakota Hidatsa have also viewed the owl as protectors
Speaker 1: to warriors, but others saw owls as predictors of death.
Speaker 1: But lore has it that the hoot of an owl
Speaker 1: announced the death of Julius Caesar, and several Southwestern American
Speaker 1: native cultures associate owls with ill omens and their calls
Speaker 1: with impending death. Today, let's look at one of the
Speaker 1: factors that makes owls so interesting their silent flight. While
Speaker 1: it adds to owl's mystique, this superpower of sorts serves
Speaker 1: a very practical purpose. It helps them sneak up on
Speaker 1: their prey. It's the design of owl's wings and feathers
Speaker 1: that allows them to fly in almost absolute silence. The
Speaker 1: two things that cause the most noise when birds fly
Speaker 1: are the flapping of their wings and the noise of
Speaker 1: turbulence as they move through the air. That is the
Speaker 1: sound of air flowing chaoo over and around their wings.
Speaker 1: Owls have broad wings with large surface areas that help
Speaker 1: them glide through the air without flapping very much. Less
Speaker 1: flapping makes less noise, and the owl's feathers work to
Speaker 1: reduce turbulence. An owl's primary feathers, which are the long
Speaker 1: ones forming the tip of the wing, are serrated like
Speaker 1: a comb on their leading edge that's the edge facing
Speaker 1: forward as they fly. This comb like design breaks down
Speaker 1: turbulence into smaller currents called microturbulences. Then, the opposite trailing
Speaker 1: edge of each primary feather has a tattered fringe shape
Speaker 1: that muffles the sound of air flowing over the wing
Speaker 1: and shifts the angle at which the air flows. These
Speaker 1: soft feathers allow air to pass through, which helps eliminate noise.
Speaker 1: Some reachers think that as the owl flies, these feathers
Speaker 1: may also shift sound waves created by the owl's wing
Speaker 1: to a higher frequency that prey can't hear. The owl's
Speaker 1: secondary feathers, which are the shorter ones that run from
Speaker 1: the midwing to the shoulder, are made up of soft
Speaker 1: fringes that reduce turbulence behind the wings. The trailing feathers
Speaker 1: on the back end of the wing are also tattered
Speaker 1: in shape, and the rest of the wing and legs
Speaker 1: are covered in short, downy feathers. As the owl flies,
Speaker 1: the trailing fringe in tattered feathers breaks sound waves over
Speaker 1: the wings as the air flows over them. The downy
Speaker 1: feathers absorb any remaining noise created in flight that's above
Speaker 1: two thousand herts, thus eliminating most sounds that owl's potential
Speaker 1: prey can hear, So the secret is in the wings.
Speaker 1: But does this noise reducing design have a place in
Speaker 1: your next airplane flight? Engineers are always in search of
Speaker 1: ways to improve aircraft technology, and nature inspires the greatest innovations.
Speaker 1: Sometimes called biomimicry. Researchers have looked to the design of
Speaker 1: owl's wings to reduce use the noise created by aircraft
Speaker 1: while keeping takeoffs energy efficient. For example, some proposed to
Speaker 1: the possibility of creating retractable fringe to mirror owls trailing feathers,
Speaker 1: helping reduce turbulence and noise, and others think that applying
Speaker 1: a velvety coating on landing gear will absorb noise just
Speaker 1: as the downy feathers do on an owl's legs. Airports
Speaker 1: like O'Hare and Heathrow have strict noise restrictions on aircraft's takeoff.
Speaker 1: If engineers find a way to reduce noise, more flights
Speaker 1: could take off every day, and revenue could increase. For
Speaker 1: an industry struggling with fuel costs and other problems, the
Speaker 1: wise old owl may provide some solutions. Today's episode is
Speaker 1: based on the article how can Owls Fly? Silently on
Speaker 1: howstuff Works dot com, written by Sarah Winkler. Brain Stuff
Speaker 1: is production of iHeartRadio in partnership with house toffwork dot
Speaker 1: com and is produced by Tyler Klang and Ramsey Young.
Speaker 1: Four more podcasts for my heart Radio, visit the iHeartRadio app,
Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.