What’s the physics behind a frisbee action like a boomerang?
In: Physics
A frisbee is an airfoil. As it travels through the air, it generates lift. When you throw a frisbee “boomerang style”, you are throwing it with a steep angle. As it travels, the lift it generates has a vertical component and a horizontal component. The vertical component causes it to rise in the air, and the horizontal component causes it to slow down. Eventually, the horizontal and vertical motion stops, and the frisbee starts falling. As it falls, it starts generating lift again. This time, however, the horizontal component of that lift is towards you, and the frisbee returns.
Of course, you’re generally throwing it into the wind to do this trick, and so the wind helps blow it back to you.
To do that you need to throw it up at a somewhat sharp angle. I’m not 100% on the physics, but if I’m not mistaken, once it runs out of vertical momentum, it doesn’t want to continue horizontally because it’s not traveling in the direction the frisbee is the most narrow. It causes a lot of extra air resistance. Think about when you stick your arm out a car window. If you keep your hand flat you can cut through air relatively easily. But if you angle your hand it will force your arm up or down, depending on which angle you turn your hand.
When you throw it up, it travels both vertically and horizontally. When it runs out of vertical momentum, it doesn’t want to continue horizontally, and starts falling back down. The angle makes it glide back in the direction it came from, being cushioned by air below it.
I’m no physicist, but I travels in an arc because it is spinning, meaning more force is pushing it on one side.
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