I guess it goes for all “gases” but I have a hard time wrapping my head around how gases moving rapidly have the kinetic energy to move solids and even liquids.
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Wind contributes to two “forces” let’s use a sail on a boat as our example.
Force A is the “push” force. All the particles in the air have kinetic energy and they physically hit the sail just a billiard ball hitting other balls. This results in a net push, in the direction of the flow of the air, into the obstacle. This force would “push” a sail boat around, or be felt by a building as a desire to sway or fall over.
Force B is the “lift” force. When air flows over a special kind of surface, called an “airfoil” it results in a net force *perpendicular* (at a right angle to) to the surface. In the case of an airplane wing this would *lift* the plane into the air. In the case of a sail boat if the sail was aligned in the right direction it would pull the boat to the right or left, sideways, from the centerline of the boat. It’s using lift force that sailboats can sail directly into the wind.
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