Winged Seed Aerodynamics and Atmospheric Density: Preliminary Results

Abstract

The relationship between atmospheric density and the aerodynamic behavior of two types of winged seeds, Hopea odorata and Dipterocarpus alatus, have been examined. The seeds were released in atmospheres of air, CO2 , and He and video recorded at 250 fps for analysis. There was an inverse proportional relationship between the atmospheric density and terminal velocity squared for both seeds. However, for reasons that are not understood, the inverse of atmospheric density was proportional to the spin frequency squared for air and CO2 , but not for He.

Keywords

• hopea odorata
• dipterocarpus alatus
• winged seed
• atmospheric density
• aerodynamics