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How do airplanes fly? An aerospace engineer explains the physics of flight

<div class="theconversation-article-body"><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/craig-merrett-1509278">Craig Merrett</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/clarkson-university-4276">Clarkson University</a> Airplane flight is one of the most significant technological achievements of the 20th century. The <a href="https://airandspace.si.edu/explore/stories/wright-brothers">invention of the airplane</a> allows people to travel from one side of the planet to the other in less than a day, compared with weeks of travel by boat and train. Understanding precisely why airplanes fly is an ongoing challenge for <a href="https://www.clarkson.edu/people/craig-merrett">aerospace engineers, like me</a>, who study and design airplanes, rockets, satellites, helicopters and space capsules. Our job is to make sure that flying through the air or in space is safe and reliable, by using tools and ideas from science and mathematics, like computer simulations and experiments. Because of that work, flying in an airplane is <a href="https://usafacts.org/articles/is-flying-safer-than-driving/">the safest way to travel</a> – safer than cars, buses, trains or boats. But although aerospace engineers design aircraft that are stunningly sophisticated, you might be surprised to learn there are still some details about the physics of flight that we don’t fully understand. <figure class="align-center zoomable"><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/577439/original/file-20240222-28-v3tjb4.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/577439/original/file-20240222-28-v3tjb4.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/577439/original/file-20240222-28-v3tjb4.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=381&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577439/original/file-20240222-28-v3tjb4.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=381&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577439/original/file-20240222-28-v3tjb4.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=381&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577439/original/file-20240222-28-v3tjb4.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=479&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577439/original/file-20240222-28-v3tjb4.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=479&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577439/original/file-20240222-28-v3tjb4.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=479&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" alt="A diagram of an airplane that shows the four forces of flight." /></a><figcaption>The forces of weight, thrust, drag and lift act on a plane to keep it aloft and moving. <a class="source" href="https://www1.grc.nasa.gov/beginners-guide-to-aeronautics/airplane-cruise-balanced-forces/">NASA</a></figcaption></figure> <h2>May the force(s) be with you</h2> There are <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/stem-content/four-forces-of-flight/#:%7E">four forces</a> that aerospace engineers consider when designing an airplane: weight, thrust, drag and lift. Engineers use these forces to help design the shape of the airplane, the size of the wings, and figure out how many passengers the airplane can carry. For example, when an airplane takes off, the thrust must be greater than the drag, and the lift must be greater than the weight. If you watch an airplane take off, you’ll see the wings change shape using flaps from the back of the wings. The flaps help make more lift, but they also make more drag, so a powerful engine is necessary to create more thrust. When the airplane is high enough and is cruising to your destination, lift needs to balance the weight, and the thrust needs to balance the drag. So the pilot pulls the flaps in and can set the engine to produce less power. That said, let’s define what force means. According to <a href="https://ca.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/4079abf0-7a4b-4f49-80ad-c69cd06a80f9/newtons-second-law-of-motion/">Newton’s Second Law</a>, a force is a mass multiplied by an acceleration, or F = ma. A force that everyone encounters every day is <a href="https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/what-is-gravity/en/#:%7E">the force of gravity</a>, which keeps us on the ground. When you get weighed at the doctor’s office, they’re actually measuring the amount of force that your body applies to the scale. When your weight is given in pounds, that is a measure of force. While an airplane is flying, gravity is pulling the airplane down. That force is the weight of the airplane. But its engines push the airplane forward because they create <a href="https://www1.grc.nasa.gov/beginners-guide-to-aeronautics/what-is-thrust/">a force called thrust</a>. The engines pull in air, which has mass, and quickly push that air out of the back of the engine – so there’s a mass multiplied by an acceleration. According to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-wh3fJRdjo">Newton’s Third Law</a>, for every action there’s an equal and opposite reaction. When the air rushes out the back of the engines, there is a reaction force that pushes the airplane forward – that’s called thrust. As the airplane flies through the air, the shape of the airplane pushes air out of the way. Again, by Newton’s Third Law, this air pushes back, <a href="https://www1.grc.nasa.gov/beginners-guide-to-aeronautics/what-is-drag/#:%7E">which leads to drag</a>. You can experience something similar to drag when swimming. Paddle through a pool, and your arms and feet provide thrust. Stop paddling, and you will keep moving forward because you have mass, but you will slow down. The reason that you slow down is that the water is pushing back on you – that’s drag. <h2>Understanding lift</h2> <a href="https://www1.grc.nasa.gov/beginners-guide-to-aeronautics/what-is-lift/">Lift</a> is more complicated than the other forces of weight, thrust and drag. It’s created by the wings of an airplane, and the shape of the wing is critical; that shape is <a href="https://howthingsfly.si.edu/media/airfoil#:%7E">known as an airfoil</a>. Basically it means the top and bottom of the wing are curved, although the shapes of the curves can be different from each other. As air flows around the airfoil, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UO75jDwGCdQ">it creates pressure</a> – a force spread out over a large area. Lower pressure is created on the top of the airfoil compared to the pressure on the bottom. Or to look at it another way, air travels faster over the top of the airfoil than beneath. Understanding why the pressure and speeds are different on the top and the bottom is <a href="https://airandspace.si.edu/multimedia-gallery/lift-and-copjpg">critical to understand lift</a>. By improving our understanding of lift, engineers can design more fuel-efficient airplanes and give passengers more comfortable flights. <figure class="align-center zoomable"><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/579698/original/file-20240304-24-6df49v.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/579698/original/file-20240304-24-6df49v.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/579698/original/file-20240304-24-6df49v.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=385&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579698/original/file-20240304-24-6df49v.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=385&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579698/original/file-20240304-24-6df49v.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=385&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579698/original/file-20240304-24-6df49v.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=484&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579698/original/file-20240304-24-6df49v.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=484&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579698/original/file-20240304-24-6df49v.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=484&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" alt="A diagram that shows how the airfoil of a plane works." /></a><figcaption>Note the airfoil, which is a specific wing shape that helps keep a plane in the air. <a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/illustration/how-airplanes-fly-royalty-free-illustration/1401215523?phrase=airfoil+diagram&adppopup=true">Dimitrios Karamitros/iStock via Getty Images Plus</a></figcaption></figure> <h2>The conundrum</h2> The reason why air moves at different speeds around an airfoil remains mysterious, and <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/video/no-one-can-explain-why-planes-stay-in-the-air/">scientists are still investigating</a> this question. Aerospace engineers have measured these pressures on a wing in both wind tunnel experiments and during flight. We can create models of different wings to predict if they will fly well. We can also change lift by changing a wing’s shape to create airplanes that fly for long distances or fly very fast. Even though we still don’t fully know why lift happens, aerospace engineers work with mathematical equations that recreate the different speeds on the top and bottom of the airfoil. Those equations describe a process <a href="https://howthingsfly.si.edu/media/circulation-theory-lift">known as circulation</a>. Circulation provides aerospace engineers with a way to model what happens around a wing even if we do not completely understand why it happens. In other words, through the use of math and science, we are able to build airplanes that are safe and efficient, even if we don’t completely understand the process behind why it works. Ultimately, if aerospace engineers can figure out why the air flows at different speeds depending on which side of the wing it’s on, we can design airplanes that use less fuel and pollute less.  <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/craig-merrett-1509278">Craig Merrett</a>, Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/clarkson-university-4276">Clarkson University</a> Image credits: Shutterstock This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-do-airplanes-fly-an-aerospace-engineer-explains-the-physics-of-flight-222847">original article</a>. </div>

Travel Tips

Australia's most-Googled terms of the last 20 years

The internet search habits of Australians over two decades have revealed some interesting facts, including Covid news, rain predictions and instructions on how to make the perfect tomahawk steak. Google have released the fascinating search engine trends since it entered the Australian market 20 years ago. Aussies have googled “Covid news” more than any other topic in the past twenty years, closely followed by “Trump news”. In January 2020, searches for “bushfires” and “air quality” also reached record highs. “Bush fire” and “flood” have dominated the natural disaster searches in the past two decades, with this years rainfall spiking the highest interest for floods in Google history, following right after the 2011 Queensland disaster. With La Niña bringing summer rain for another year, more people searched “when will the rain stop” in March 2022 than ever before. “Time travel” was the most googled type of travel, followed by “international travel” and “student travel”. Australia was also the most charitable country, with the most searches for op shops in the world. The more you know! Image: Getty

Technology

Software engineer EASILY hacks airline website to find lost luggage

A software engineer has shared just how easy it was – scarily so – for him to hack an airline’s system. Nandan Kumar was on a domestic flight on Indian airline IndiGo and revealed that he and a passenger had mistakenly taken each other’s bags. He tried calling IndiGo multiple times and was unsuccessful, so decided to put his skills to use and find whoever took his bag. Nandan shared the entire ordeal on Twitter, showing how easy it was to hack IndiGo’s website and find other passengers’ details. “I reached home when my wife pointed out that the bag seems to be different from ours as we don’t use key based locks in our bags,” he wrote. “So right after reaching home I called your customer care. After multiple calls and navigating through @IndiGo6Eand of course a lot of waiting I was able to connect to one of your customer care agents and they tried to connect me with the co-passenger. But all in vain. “Long story short, I couldn't get any resolution on the issue. And neither your customer care team was not ready to provide me with the contact details of the person citing privacy and data protection.” Nandan said customer service assured him they would call back in the morning but when they didn’t he knew it was time to “take the matter in my own hands”. “After all the failed attempts, my dev instinct kicked in and I pressed the F12 button on my computer keyboard and opened the developer console on the @IndiGo6E website and started the whole checkin flow with network log record on. “And there in one of the network responses was the phone number and email of my co-passenger. “I made note of the details and decided to call the person and try to get the bags swapped.” Luckily the pair were not far from each other and agreed to meet at a central place to exchange the bags. Nandan, however, went one step further and urged IndiGo to update their website – as it was way too easy to hack! Image: Twitter

Travel Trouble

How does a jet engine work?

<div> <div class="copy"> Modern aviation owes its success to the jet engine. The technology was originally developed in the late 1930s and early 1940s for military use in <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II" target="_blank">World War Two</a>, but it has since powered the passenger aircraft revolution. There are many different variations on the jet engine, but the one most commonly used in passenger planes is called a turbofan (because it contains a turbine and a fan). The description below is about turbofans in particular, but much of it applies more generally. <h2>So how does a jet engine work?</h2> At the simplest level the way a jet engine works can be reduced to just four words: suck, squeeze, bang, blow. Let’s break down what that means. <h3>Suck</h3> When you look at a jet engine, the first thing you will generally notice is that the front is a giant many-bladed fan, inside what is known as the intake. The blades act in exactly the same way the blades on a propeller or desk fan work, sucking air in and shoving it out the other side at high speed. The fan in a jet engine does have a lot more blades than a desk fan, though: often more than 20. Think of the fan as a propeller on steroids. In most modern jet engines, the fan alone can generate up to 90% of the thrust, or ‘pushing power’ of the engine. To find out where the other 10% comes from, we must continue to follow the air on its journey. <h3>Squeeze</h3> We are now leaving pre-jet engine technology behind. Once the fan sucks in the air, some of it is not just forced around the engine, but is funnelled to what is known as the compressor. Inside, air is pushed along by many spinning disks loaded with small blades along a tube that gets smaller and smaller. This quickly squeezes the air, making it much denser, hotter and more explosive when fuel is added. <h3>Bang</h3> For the pyromaniacs out there, there is where the fun begins. Fuel is added to the compressed air, creating a highly volatile mix requiring a simple spark to burn. This is what happens in the combustion chamber, where the fuel/air mix is sprayed and ignited, rapidly expanding the air and generating the rest of the thrust of the engine. <h3>Blow</h3> The rapid expansion of the air during combustion generates a massive amount of pressure that needs to find a way out. The way out of a jet engine is at the end of another tube full of spinning disks bristling with blades that are spun by the force of the expanding gas. This part is known as the turbine. Once at the end of the turbine, the gases leave the engine at high speed, exerting a force on the engine in the opposite direction. (In accord with Newton’s third law: for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.) The ingenious part of the modern jet engine is that the intake fan, compressor, combustion chamber and turbine are linked by a single shaft running along the inside of the engine. So when the expanding gases spin the turbine at the back, it helps spin the fan at the front, which keeps the process going and generates more thrust. Image credits: Getty Images</div> <div id="contributors"> This article was originally published on <a rel="noopener" href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/technology/how-does-a-jet-engine-work/" target="_blank">cosmosmagazine.com</a> and was written by Jake Port. </div> </div>

Technology

A chemical engineer explains: What makes pepper spray so intense? And is it a tear gas?

In recent weeks, the world has looked on as governments use chemical irritants to control protesters and riots. Whether it’s tear gas, pepper spray, mace or pepper balls, all have one thing in common: they’re chemical weapons. Chemical warfare agents have been used twice in Sydney in the past week alone. Police <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-06-07/sydney-police-defend-pepper-spray-use-on-protesters/12330558">pepper-sprayed</a> demonstrators at Central Station, following Saturday’s major Black Lives Matter protest. The next day, tear gas <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-06-08/tear-gas-fired-into-exercise-yard-of-sydney-long-bay-jail/12332572">was used</a> to break up a fight at Long Bay jail, as prison guards filled an exercise yard with tear gas canisters – also impacting nearby residents. These events followed the deployment of <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2020/06/05/politics/park-police-tear-gas/index.html">chemical riot control agents</a> – specifically “pepper bombs” – in Washington DC last week. They were used to clear protesters from a public park so President Donald Trump could walk from the White House to a nearby church for a photo opportunity. The White House made a highlight reel to celebrate Trump’s heroic walk across the street for his bible photo op... US Attorney General William Barr said “<a href="https://www.factcheck.org/2020/06/the-continuing-tear-gas-debate/">there was no tear gas used</a>”, claiming “pepper spray is not a chemical irritant. It’s not chemical.” I’m a chemical engineer and chemist who studies chemicals in the environment. So I thought I’d clear the air about what makes pepper spray such a powerful chemical irritant, and a chemical weapon. What’s inside pepper spray? The active compounds in pepper spray are collectively known as capsaicinoids. They are given the military symbol OC, for “oleoresin capsicum”. The most important chemical in OC is capsaicin. This is derived from chilli peppers in a chemical process that dissolves and concentrates it into a liquid. Capsaicin is the same compound that makes chillies hot, but in an intense, weaponised form. Not all capsaicinoids are obtained naturally. One called nonivamide (also known as PAVA or pelargonic acid vanillylamide) is mostly made by humans. PAVA is an <a href="https://cot.food.gov.uk/committee/committee-on-toxicity/cotstatements/cotstatementsyrs/cotstatements2002/pavastatement">intense irritant</a> used in <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/dec/09/pepper-spray-used-in-non-violent-situations-in-prison-pilot">artificial pepper spray</a>. Is pepper spray a tear gas? We’ve established pepper spray is a chemical, but is it also a kind of tear gas? “<a href="https://emergency.cdc.gov/agent/riotcontrol/factsheet.asp">Tear gas</a>” is an informal term and a bit of a misnomer, because it isn’t a gas. Rather, tear gas refers to any weaponised irritant used to immobilise people. More specifically, tear gas is often used to describe weapons that disperse their irritants in the air either as liquid aerosol droplets (such as <a href="https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/health/a28904691/how-tear-gas-works/">gas canisters</a>), or as a powder (such as pepper balls). This definition distinguishes tear gas from personal self-defence sprays which use foams, gels and liquids. Tear gas canisters typically contain the irritants 2-chlorobenzalmalononitrile (CS) and phenacyl chloride (CN). Both CS and CN are man-made chemicals discovered in a lab, unlike capsaicin (the traditional ingredient in pepper spray). But despite capsaicin coming from chilli peppers, pepper spray is still a weaponised irritant that can be delivered as an aerosol or powder. It should unequivocally be considered a type of tear gas. Pepper spray as a weapon The chemical irritants OC, CS and CN have military symbols because they are chemical weapons. They are termed “<a href="https://www.wbur.org/news/2020/06/10/rubber-bullets-protesters-victoria-snelgrove-boston">less-lethal</a>” because they are less likely to kill than conventional weapons. Their use, however, can still <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/judystone/2020/06/08/tear-gas-and-pepper-spray-can-maim-kill-and-spread-coronavirus/#47f17a2a725f">cause fatalities</a>. Technically, pepper spray and other tear gases are classified as lachrymatory agents. <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-tear-gas-139958">Lachrymatory agents</a> attack mucous membranes in the eyes and respiratory system. Pepper spray works almost instantly, forcing the eyes to close and flood with tears. Coupled with coughing fits and difficulty breathing, this means the targeted person is effectively <a href="https://healthland.time.com/2011/11/22/how-painful-is-pepper-spray/">blinded and incapacitated</a>. Because lachrymatory agents work on <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK544263/">nerve receptors</a> that help us sense heat, they also induce an intense burning sensation. The combined effects of pepper spray can last anywhere from 15 minutes to more than an hour. Lachrymatory agents emerged on the <a href="https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/germans-introduce-poison-gas">battlefields of World War I</a>. Artillery shells were filled with chemicals such as <a href="https://www.compoundchem.com/2014/05/17/chemical-warfare-ww1/">xylyl bromide and chloroacetone</a> and fired at enemy soldiers. Agents that induce choking, blistering and vomiting were added as the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/10/science/chemical-weapons-world-war-1-armistice.html">chemical arms race</a> escalated. In the 1920s, the <a href="https://www.un.org/disarmament/wmd/bio/1925-geneva-protocol/">Geneva Protocol</a> was enacted to ban the use of indiscriminate and often ineffective chemical weapons on the battlefield. Today, the unjustified use of chemical riot control agents <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2012/04/201242913130963418.html">threatens to erode</a> the systems that are meant to protect us from the most dangerous weaponised chemicals. Written by Gabriel da Silva. Republished with permission of <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-makes-pepper-spray-so-intense-and-is-it-a-tear-gas-a-chemical-engineer-explains-140441">The Conversation.</a>

Art

Unearthed snaps of baby Prince Harry with Princess Diana reveals adorable detail

Prince Harry has been a super fan of the children’s show Thomas The Tank Engine since he was a tot still in nappies and now is starring in an on-camera introduction to a very special episode of Thomas The Tank Engine, a new royal TV special called Thomas and Friends: The Royal Engine. The classic show has been a must-watch for children all around the world for decades, including the Duke of Sussex who has pictures of him as just a young boy sporting memorabilia while alongside his mother, Princess Diana. <img style="width: 500px; height: 281.1284046692607px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7835867/sg-21.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/695130b9b9d0459bb23d50e0f0d0d612" /> Prince Harry’s latest project, which is him appearing in a 22-minute episode to mark Thomas & Friends' 75th anniversary, definitely holds a special place for the royal. The episode even features a cameo from The Queen and Prince Charles set back in the time frame of when our future King was just a boy. The story follow Thomas as he transports Sir Topham Hatt, the controller of the railway yard, to Buckingham Palace in London. <img style="width: 500px; height: 281.1284046692607px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7835868/sg-20.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/40aa882884c7439aba99adddd712a474" /> He has been invited by The Queen to be honoured with an award for his distinguished service to the railway. Her Majesty’s son, a young Prince Charles, has asked that Thomas be the engine to transport him on his journey. In a statement, Prince Harry said it was an honour to be involved in the project. "Thomas the Tank Engine has been a comforting, familiar face to so many families over the last 75 years – entertaining, educating and inspiring children on important issues through exciting stories and characters," he said. <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/B_jK59rnYqw/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="12"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B_jK59rnYqw/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by T&F Fan Club (@thomasthetankenginefanclub)</a> on Apr 28, 2020 at 8:22pm PDT </div> </blockquote> "I certainly have fond memories of growing up with Thomas & Friends and being transported to new places through his adventures. I am very proud to have been asked to take part in this special episode. I wish Thomas & Friends a very happy anniversary." Harry's on-camera introduction was recorded earlier this year, in January, with the Duke donating his fee to charity.

Doctor Google makes people anxious

It’s a busy day at the office and your left eye has been twitching uncontrollably. So, out of curiosity and irritation you Google it. Various benign causes — stress, exhaustion, too much caffeine — put your mind at ease initially. But you don’t stop there. Soon, you find out eye twitches could be a symptom of something more sinister, causing you to panic. You ruin the rest of the day trawling through web pages and forums, reading frightening stories convincing you you’re seriously ill. For many of us, this cycle has become common. It can cause anxiety, unnecessary contact with health services, and at the extreme, impact our day-to-day functioning. But our <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S088761851930218X">recently published research</a>, the first to evaluate online therapy for this type of excessive and distressing health-related Googling, shows what can help. I’ve heard of ‘cyberchondria’. Do I have it? The term “cyberchondria” describes the anxiety we experience as a result of excessive web searches about symptoms or diseases. It’s not an official diagnosis, but is an obvious play on the word “hypochondria”, now known as health anxiety. It’s obsessional worrying about health, online. <a href="https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007%2Fs11920-008-0050-1.pdf">Some argue</a> cyberchondria is simply a modern form of health anxiety. But <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27497667">studies show</a> even people who don’t normally worry about their health can see their concerns spiral after conducting an initial web search. Cyberchondria <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1586/ern.12.162">is when searching is</a>: <ul> <li> excessive: searching for too long, or too often </li> <li> difficult to control: you have difficulty controlling, stopping or preventing searching </li> <li> distressing: it causes a lot of distress, anxiety or fear </li> <li> impairing: it has an impact on your day-to-day life. </li> </ul> If this sounds like you, there’s help. We tested an online therapy and here’s what we found We tested whether <a href="https://thiswayup.org.au/how-we-can-help/courses/health-anxiety-course/">an online treatment program</a> helped reduce cyberchondria in 41 people with severe health anxiety. We compared how well it worked compared with a control group of 41 people who learned about general (not health-related) anxiety and stress management online. The online treatment is based on cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT), which involves learning more helpful ways of thinking and behaving. Participants completed six online CBT modules over 12 weeks, and had phone support from a psychologist. The <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214782916300379">treatment</a> explained how excessive web searching can become a problem, how to search about health effectively, and practical tools to prevent and stop it (see a summary of those tips below). We found the online treatment was more effective at reducing cyberchondria than the control group. It helped reduce the frequency of online searches, how upsetting the searching was, and improved participants’ ability to control their searching. Importantly, these behavioural changes were linked to improvements in health anxiety. Although we don’t know whether the program simply reduced or completely eliminated cyberchondria, these findings show if you’re feeling anxious about your health, you can use our practical strategies to reduce anxiety-provoking and excessive online searching about health. So, what can I do? Here are our top tips from the treatment program: <ul> <li> be aware of your searching: don’t just search on auto-pilot. Take note of when, where, how often, and what you are searching about. Keep track of this for several days so you can spot the warning signs and high-risk times for when you’re more likely to get stuck in excessive searching. Then you can make a plan to do other things at those times </li> <li> understand how web searches work: web search algorithms are mysterious beasts. But top search results are not necessarily the most likely explanation for your symptoms. Top search results are often click-bait – the rare, but fascinating and horrific stories about illness we can’t help clicking on (not the boring stuff) </li> <li> be smart about how you search: limit yourself to websites with reliable, high quality, balanced information such as government-run websites and/or those written by medical professionals. Stay away from blogs, forums, testimonials or social media </li> <li> challenge your thoughts by thinking of alternative explanations for your symptoms: for example, even though you think your eye twitch might be motor neuron disease, what about a much more likely explanation, such as staring at the computer screen too much </li> <li> use other strategies to cut down, and prevent you from searching: focus on scheduling these activities at your high-risk times. These can be absorbing activities that take your focus and can distract you; or you can use relaxation strategies to calm your mind and body </li> <li> surf the urge: rather than searching straight away when you feel the urge to search about your symptoms, put it off for a bit, and see how the urge to search reduces over time. </li> </ul> And if those don’t help, consult a doctor or psychologist. If this article has raised issues for you, or if you’re concerned about someone you know, check out resources about anxiety from <a href="https://www.beyondblue.org.au/the-facts/anxiety">Beyond Blue</a>, the Centre for Clinical Interventions <a href="https://www.cci.health.wa.gov.au/Resources/Looking-After-Yourself/Health-Anxiety">Helping Health Anxiety</a> workbook or <a href="https://thiswayup.org.au/">THIS WAY UP</a> online courses.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/125070/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/jill-newby-193454">Jill Newby</a>, Associate Professor and MRFF/NHMRC Career Development Fellow, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/unsw-1414">UNSW</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/eoin-mcelroy-858386">Eoin McElroy</a>, Lecturer in Psychology, Department of Neuroscience, Psychology and Behaviour, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-leicester-1053">University of Leicester</a> This article is republished from <a href="http://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/if-dr-googles-making-you-sick-with-worry-theres-help-125070">original article</a>.

Technology

These easy tips will save you hundreds on petrol

Fuel costs can put a major dent in the family budget, but fortunately there are plenty of things you can do to reduce your consumption. The recent spell of low fuel prices has been welcome relief for many of us who depend on the car for transport, but sooner or later they will start heading north again. It makes a lot of sense, therefore, to do whatever you can to improve fuel efficiency. This can not only save you money, it will also reduce your carbon footprint. Here are a few pointers on what you can do to reduce your consumption. Can LPG or diesel save you money? This is often a hotly contested debate and the many variables involved can make it difficult to compare, but there is a strong argument that both diesel and LPG can be more budget friendly. LPG certainly uses more fuel to drive the same distance as petrol due to the lower energy content of LPG, but the cost of LPG compared to petrol more than offsets this disadvantage. The downside of LPG is that a car fitted with LPG is more expensive to buy and the cost of converting a car from petrol to LPG is no longer subsidised by the government. This means that the cost benefit of the fuel will take some time to make up for the upfront cost of purchase, but if you are doing a reasonable distance every year then it could well be worth the switch. Diesel too can offer potential savings. It has gone a long way to shedding its image as a smelly and noisy way to get around, thanks to improvements in engine technology over recent years. Diesel engines are getting quieter and cleaner and are now available even in many smaller cars, so it is not surprising that they are taking an increasing share of the new car market. Fuel efficiency is one of the key reasons for this, with diesel having a significant advantage in economy if all other factors are equal. In days gone by the cost per litre of diesel was prohibitive compared to petrol, but this balance has now well and truly swung the other way. The cost of a diesel car will still be greater than its petrol equivalent, but as with LPG, the more driving you do the quicker you will claw back the extra upfront cost. How reliable are the fuel efficiency labels? If you have been shopping for a new car you will be aware of the mandatory labels that now appear on the windscreen. These supposedly provide an indication of the fuel consumption for both urban and “extra urban” (country) driving. The manufacturers are responsible for testing their own cars and this is done according to conditions set by Australian Design Rules. What many people don’t realise, however, is that they are not done on the road, but rather are done on a dynamometer with artificially created air flow to simulate actual driving conditions. The controlled guidelines for the test mean that they are indeed a good way to compare different vehicles relative to each other, but their usefulness stops there. Because the test conditions are so artificial, they bear little resemblance to actual realistic driving conditions and consequently the results are generally a lot more favourable than what you will experience in reality. In short – you can use them to compare efficiency between different cars, but don’t use them to plan your weekly fuel budget! 9 ways to drive for better fuel efficiency When it comes to the actual driving of your car from week to week, there are many ways to make a big difference to your fuel consumption. Here are our top tips: 1. Lazy gear selection in a manual car can chew through the juice. Avoid sitting in a low gear once revs are sufficient to change up and also avoid sitting in a high gear when the engine is straining to maintain revs. 2. When driving an automatic stay alert when using the accelerator and ease off slightly when you can hear the engine getting ready to change up. 3. Erratic braking and acceleration guzzles fuel, so drive smoothly with gradual acceleration and avoid rushing to the speed limit if you can see that the traffic ahead will likely require you to brake. The extension of this rule is, of course, to avoid driving in heavy stop-start traffic where possible. 4. Don’t hesitate to switch off the engine if you are stationary for any length of time – leaving a car idling uses up more fuel than you may think. 5. Speed matters. If you are driving a 110 kph your car will use a lot more than it would travelling at 90 kph. 6. Items such as roof racks and spoilers can add significantly to air resistance and this extra load will cost you at the bowser, so remove unnecessary accessories if not being used. 7. Tyre inflation is essential to optimum operation, so keep the pressure checked regularly 9. You can expect to use up 10 per cent extra fuel when operating your air conditioner at speeds of over 80 kph. 9. Regular maintenance to keep your car well-tuned is also essential to ensure the engine is running to its optimum performance and using fuel efficiently. Republished with permission of <a href="https://www.wyza.com.au/articles/money/how-to-spend-less-on-petrol.aspx">Wyza.com.au.</a>

Retirement Life

“Something’s wrong with the plane I love you”: Passengers write goodbye messages after engine fire

Terrified passengers started sending “goodbye messages” to their friends and family after a plane engine caught fire after flying into a flock of geese. Swoop flight W0312 flew into a flock of geese as the flight was bound for Edmonton in Canada. According to <a href="https://bc.ctvnews.ca/flames-coming-out-of-the-engine-emergency-landing-in-abbotsford-after-plane-hits-geese-1.4586348">CTV News</a>, passengers heard a “loud thud” when the geese were sucked into the plane engine. The engine caught fire and pilots announced they had to return to Abbotsford Airport due to running on “two engines”. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en-gb"> “I started seeing flames coming out of the right engine.” Passengers describe the terrifying moments before the plane they were on made an emergency landing in <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Abbotsford?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Abbotsford</a>. <a href="https://t.co/VCYOvhiuAh">https://t.co/VCYOvhiuAh</a> <a href="https://t.co/hxto3cY2Rg">pic.twitter.com/hxto3cY2Rg</a> — Allison Hurst (@AllisonM_Hurst) <a href="https://twitter.com/AllisonM_Hurst/status/1171577978154889216?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">11 September 2019</a></blockquote> Passenger Fadhl Abu-Ghanem told CTV News: “I started texting my mum saying, ‘Something’s wrong with the aeroplane. I love you.’” Donna-Lee Rayner posted on Facebook that there was smoke in the cabin and she could smell burning. She wrote: “Start my goodbye messages in case my phone is recovered after we crash.” “One of the engines sucked up some geese and the smell was them,” she wrote. “Currently running on two engines and we are turning around back to Abbotsford”. <iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fjjjabawalkie%2Fposts%2F10218837602626358&width=500" width="500" height="802" style="border: none; overflow: hidden;" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allow="encrypted-media"></iframe> Swoop wrote an emailed statement to CTV News about the incident. “We can confirm Flight 312 landed safely in Abbotsford due to a bird strike shortly after departure. “All travellers were offloaded safely and without incident. Thank you to our captain and crew for ensuring the safety of our travellers.”

Travel Trouble

Plane victim's husband speaks for first time since tragedy

A week ago, Michael Riordan’s life changed forever as he was delivered the heartbreaking news that his wife and the mother of his two children, Jennifer, had died after being partially sucked out the window of a Southwest Airlines plane. Now, Michael has spoken to the <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/US/News/husband-woman-killed-southwest-flight-immediately-thought-kids/story?id=54701767" target="_blank">ABC</a> in his home state of New Mexico about losing his wife that he had met 29 years ago at the shops. Michael revealed that he initially didn’t believe that his wife could be that injured. “The chaplain at the hospital called and said, ‘We need to speak with Mike Riordan who is married to Jennifer. Are you married to Jennifer Riordan?’” Michael said. “I said, ‘Yes, but she wasn’t going through Philadelphia. She was planning on going to Chicago so I don’t think you —’ just absolute denial. I’m still in denial. “He said, ‘I need to have a doctor talk to you’.” After speaking to the chaplain at the Philadelphia hospital, Michael immediately went online and researched the engine explosion. “I saw one passenger was brought to the hospital, like, ‘OK, but the whole plane didn’t crash,’” he said. “I was like, ‘She can’t be injured that bad she’s just in a hospital, but I can get out there and I can hold her hand and tell her I love her, it just can’t be that bad.’” Two minutes after reading the article, Michael received another call from the hospital. “We’re sorry, we tried everything we could but she didn’t make it,” a doctor told him. Michael then had to face the impossible task of breaking the news to his two young children. “I immediately thought of the kids and how do you tell your kids their mum was gone,” he said. Jennifer had planned to meet up with her family at her son’s baseball game after she flew in from New York. Michael instead took their kids to a chapel and broke the tragic news to them. “I just held their little hands and took a knee and said, ‘Mummy’s not going to come home guys,’” he said. Michael explained that he is staying away from reports about what the airline should do and is instead focusing on his two young children. <a href="http://www.oversixty.com.au/travel/travel-insurance-articles/2018/04/mid-air-disaster-woman-partially-sucked-out-of-plane/" target="_blank">Immediately after the incident</a>, Southwest Airlines chief executive officer Gary Jelly said Jennifer’s death was a “tragic loss”. “This is a sad day, and our hearts go out to the family and loved ones of the deceased customer,” he said. Jennifer was partially dragged out of a window on the Southwest Airlines Flight 1380 after shrapnel from an exploded engine smashed the glass. Jennifer was wearing her seatbelt when the incident occurred. Firefighter Andrew Needum and ranch hand Tim McGinty helped pull her back inside the plane. Retired nurse Peggy Phillips was one of the passengers who gave Jennifer CPR. “The window had broken and the suction, the negative pressure, had pulled her outside the plane partially,” Peggy said. “These two wonderful men ... and a passenger managed to get her back inside the plane and we lay her down and we started CPR.”

Travel Tips

Almost 50,000 Australian vehicles recalled due to engine defect

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has announced almost 50,000 cars in Australia will be recalled due to a dangerous mechanical defect. Mitsubishi Motors is recalling 48,209 vehicles that have problems with the power relays which mean the part may overheat, potentially leading to serious engine failure. "The engine may stall during driving, fail to restart or failsafe protection may be activated, with a loss of engine power," the recall notice states. "An unexpected loss of engine power may result in an accident." Models affected by the recall include the Mitsubishi Lancer, Mitsubishi ASX and Mitsubishi Outlander. The ACCC published a list of car vehicle identification numbers that will be recalled which you can access <a href="https://www.mitsubishi-motors.com.au/customer-assistance/vehicle-recalls" target="_blank">here</a>. Mitsubishi has stated that it would contact owners of the models affected, and offer a replacement for the defective part. Owners are advised to contact Mitsubishi Motors Australia on 1300 131 211. Have you ever had vehicular troubles? <a href="https://oversixty.disconline.com.au/car/new_quote.jsp?hSty=EXOS&cgpCde=00272&hCenCde=10737&LinkId=12071&utm_source=over60&utm_campaign=insurance&utm_medium=in-article-banner-car-1&utm_content=car-insurance" target="_blank"><img src="http://media.oversixty.com.au/images/EditorialAddon/201706_CarInsurance_EditorialAddon_468x60_1.gif" alt="Over60 Car Insurance - Get a quote!"/></a>

Insurance

Pilot says plane engines cut out on most flights

If you’re a nervous flyer, odds are you’ve already has visions that have revolved around your airplane’s engines cutting out mid-flight followed by some nightmarish descent. But what if we were to tell you engines cut out on most routine flights? The prospect of sitting in an airplane that’s 30,000 feet in the air and doesn’t have its engines on is one that’s daunting to consider (especially if you don’t have a degree in civil aviation) but most modern aircraft are designed to glide. Even mega-jumbo jets can glide for extreme distances. If you’re sitting in the cabin and it sounds as though the engines have been turned off, it’s because they have. Aviation expert Patrick Smith told <a href="http://www.news.com.au/" target="_blank">News.com.au</a>, “It’s not the least bit uncommon for jets to descend at what a pilot calls ‘flight idle,’ with the engines run back to a zero-thrust condition,” he wrote. “They’re still operating and powering crucial systems, but providing no push. You’ve been gliding many times without knowing it. It happens on just about every flight. “Obviously an idle-thrust glide is different from the engines quitting outright, but even then, the glide itself would be no different.” Were you aware of this? Are you a nervous flyer?

International Travel

Grandpa surprises grandkids with Thomas the Tank Engine

A grandfather has surprised his grandchildren on Easter with a fully-functioning Thomas the Tank Engine train. A video shared on YouTube on April 18 captures the unveiling of the big surprise – and the kid’s reactions are priceless! The kids then jump into their own carriages while grandpa takes them for a ride around the garden. What an amazing granddad! According to the video’s description, the train was made from a toddler bed and an old ride on a lawn mower. Video credit: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Os7wroRGL0M">YouTube/waggerz</a>

Family & Pets

Facebook about to make all of your posts to date searchable

Facebook is reportedly index all of its posts, so people can easily search for them.Why is this a big deal? Well it basically means anything you’ve ever put up on the social network is now easily accessible, from an angry post you made in the heat of the moment five years ago to an unfortunate change of relationship status that you’d rather not mention anymore.Facebook reportedly contains roughly two trillion posts made by users over the years and soon enough all of these will be accessible with the new search function.Rousseau Kazi, a product manager on Facebook's search team, explained the decision, “Because we’ve indexed the entire world’s conversations, we tell you things that are trending, things that are breaking, what's happening right now. The whole idea here is that if you can group these pieces of content in certain ways, it makes it pretty easy to get the full story.”While this is a fascinating idea that would provide a Facebook time capsule for any moment or event, it’s also a tad unsettling to think anything posted on Facebook (that may have even been made public accidentally) is now indexed and easily searchable for any user.The good news is you don’t have to opt in! If you don’t want old posts to show up to the world when they search <a href="https://www.facebook.com/about/basics/what-others-see-about-you/posts/" target="_blank">change your privacy settings</a> and determine who can look at your posts.To change your <a href="https://www.facebook.com/about/basics/what-others-see-about-you/posts/" target="_blank">Facebook privacy settings click here</a>.

News

Facebook about to make all of your posts to date searchable

News

Amazing tips and tricks for using Google

Everyone uses Google yet few know just how powerful and convenient it can be. Check out these little-known tips and tricks to make your online search that much easier.1. Search for an exact word or phrasePutting your search terms in double quotation marks will only bring up searches for those words or phrases. It’s a great option to search quotes or song lyrics. For example “Imagine all the people”2. Exclude certain words from a searchAdd a dash or minus sign (-) before the words you want to exclude. For example, if you want to find a recipe without nuts because of an allergy search “Chocolate cake recipe -nuts”.3. Search within a websiteYou can use Google to search within a specific website by typing in your search term followed by “site:” and then the URL of the website – a handy option if you remember reading an article from a website but can’t find it. For example, if you found a recipe on Over60 but can’t find it anymore search “recipe site:oversixty.com.au” and all recipes on Over60 will come up.4. Do two Google searches at onceAdd OR (must be capitalised) between words. Without the OR, results would only show pages that match both terms. For example, “world cup location 2014 OR 2018”.5. Fill the blankIf you’ve blanked on some phrases, quotes or lyrics and it’s bothering you, never fear Google will work it out for you. Fill in the blanks of any searches with asterisks (*). For example “a * saved is a * earned” and Google will tell you it’s “a penny saved is a penny earned”.6. Define a wordIf you’re after a quick definition type “define:” followed by the word. It will also show you synonyms and origins of the word. For example “define: preposterous”.7. Search for a number rangeSeparate your number range by two periods without any spaces (..) to return results within your specific number range. You can do it with dates, prices or measurements. For example, if you want to search for digital cameras within a price range you would search “camera $50..$150”. If you are looking for news about eclipses you would search “eclipse 2008..2014”.8. Set a timerIf you’re watching a movie on your laptop or tablet but need to remember to pick someone up, you can always set a timer on Google. Type in “set timer for” and the Google timer will appear. Enter times you want and Google will beep at you when the time runs out.9. Do mathsType your equations in Google and it will do the work for you. For example “33% of 2000”.10. Similar wordsGoogle can search for words and all of its synonyms by adding a ~ before the word. For example, if you type “~mobile phone”, you will also get results that include “cellular” and “wireless” and so on.

Technology

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Doctor Google makes people anxious

These easy tips will save you hundreds on petrol

“Something’s wrong with the plane I love you”: Passengers write goodbye messages after engine fire

Plane victim's husband speaks for first time since tragedy

Almost 50,000 Australian vehicles recalled due to engine defect

Pilot says plane engines cut out on most flights

Grandpa surprises grandkids with Thomas the Tank Engine

Facebook about to make all of your posts to date searchable

Facebook about to make all of your posts to date searchable

Amazing tips and tricks for using Google

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