The Physics behind Frisbee

Have you ever wondered how a Frisbee flies? The answer to that question is quite simple – it is completely related to Physics. The forward flight of the Frisbee is due to the air that drives at the leading edge of the disc. The air flow stays over and under the flying disc.

With the edge of the disc being tipped up, much of the air is deflected downward, so when it pushes downward, the air is again pushed up and over the disc.. This force which enables the Frisbee to fly on air is known as aerodynamic lift. You can compare the flow of the air to the flow of fluids. This air tends to follow curve surfaces. The design of the Frisbee is carefully thought out. Due to the bend on the Frisbee, air is easily sucked upwards and downwards thereby making the disc stay floating despite of the pull of gravity. Another good way to describe a Frisbee in flight will be the so called ‘Bernoulli Effect’.

As a Frisbee gamer, you've got to be conscious that you are not able to make a Frisbee fly when it is upside-down. The disc’s turning is also crucial. For instance, when a game player tosses the Frisbee verticaly, it definitely will result in a poor flight. The Frisbee will just quiver and tumble like that of a falling leaf; this is because the aerodynamic force isn’t ideally centered. Because of the Frisbee’s angular momentum, it would likely stay on a certain orientation. The flight of the disc is frequently affected by the aerodynamic twists and torques.

Due to the disc’s innovative design, the greatest lift is perfectly placed at the toy’s middle. The angular momentum of the disc is also optimized due to its thicker edges. The disc also has top ridges and it's not for any design purpose. The ridges introduce microscopic air turbulence above the disc’s label. Because of the turbulence, the disc can fly farther and longer on the air.

A lot of people are confused with the physics behind the Frisbee and so they would just rather toss and catch a Frisbee instead of think about how a toy works. It is really quite amazing that the Frisbee started as an empty pie tin and at present, it’s flight can certainly only be explained by physics.

If someone asks you in what ways the disc flies, you have now got an idea. If you still can not comprehend the concept of aerodynamics, you can just answer that the Frisbee flies because of its innovative and sophisticated design; that way, you won’t have to run down the details. Still, the aerodynamic concept and the Bernoulli Effect are not really difficult to understand. If you take time to read and comprehend, you will immediately understand how the toy works.

From just a simple toy, the Frisbee is now being played as a sport. In fact, there's many types of Frisbee games today which includes Ultimate Frisbee, Flutter Guts, Friskee, Dodge Frisbee, Disc Golf, and a lot more. Because of the disc’s ingenious construction, it has evolved from being a simple toy to very exciting sports.

Now that you know physics behind the flight of a Frisbee, you’ll no longer ponder how it is able to endure the gravity and stay in the air for a long period. Get your very own Frisbee now and play together with someone you know and even other family members. You will be able to play in your own yard or even at the park.