The Bumblebee Principle

[cribbj]

Most of us old fa*ts know this principle very well, particularly those of us who are engineers, but it might be useful for some of the younger crowd to become familiar with it as it pertains to people.

From an engineering perspective, it is aerodynamically and mechanically impossible for the bumblebee to fly. His body is too big, heavy, and bulbous, and his wings are way too tiny to support him. The amount of energy it would take to make this creature fly is much higher than is possible, given his size.

Unfortunately no one ever informed the bumblebee about any of this, so he just goes out and flies anyway, and does it pretty well. This is a very humbling lesson that we engineers learn very early in our careers.

One doesn't have to be an engineer to be a great hotrodder; sometimes in fact, it can be a disadvantage. We engineers are great for sitting around and figuring out why something can't or won't work, but then a bumblebee like Lextreme comes along and does it anyway, and does it pretty well.

Our hotrodding hobby, and the world in general need more bumblebees like David.

John Cribb, P.E.
TX 73273

 

[verylost]

Umm... I don't want to burst your bubble but it was proven how bumble bees fly. The reason people believe that bumblee bees can't fly is because they applied the fixed wing model which is incorrect for this instance.

 

[autronic]

Sigh, it always takes an engineer to burst the bubble.......


( with regards to verylost...

;-)

 

[cribbj]

Yeah, we're also pretty good at coming up with reasons why something works, after we sat around and came up with all the logical reasons why it wouldn't, and then were proven wrong when it did :veryhappy
The bottomline is that hotrodding in its purest form is nothing more than applied innovative thinking, so it's a necessity to have people in the sport that continually challenge the naysayers and shake up the status quo to keep the innovation level high. That's why the bumblebee principle is still so relevant; it forces people to think outside the box and innovate.

When you can call up Stillen or TRD and order $2000 worth of bolt-on go fast equipment for your Luxo racer, that's not hotrodding. Taking Chevy rods, Supra valves and Tundra oil jets and making them all work together in a Lexus motor.... well that's the real deal.

John

 

[rytherwr]

Absolutely!!!!!!!!!!

Cribbj, you are da Man! In all the ramblings I've read on all the forums I belong to, (or anywhere else for that matter) you have succinctly captured the essence of hotrodding in general and innovation in particular. Naysayers are aplenty and can certainly be the driving force for making chicken salad out of chicken s--t, i.e., what David and the rest of those like him do in spite of the negativity. So bring 'em on!!!!! We're gonna make stuff and break stuff until we get it right!!! Thank you !

Regards,
Wayne

 

[JBrady]

Engineering also assured the world (in the 40s or 50s I don't recall the date) that the QUICKEST that a car could cover the 1/4 mile from a standing start was EIGHT SECONDS... and the fastest was right around 200mph... This was operating under the assumption (a common engineering term that means inside the box guessing) that maximum traction cannot exceed 1G.