Do you agree: nothing heavier than air can fly?

Question: Do you agree: nothing heavier than air can fly!?
Best Answer - Chosen by Asker:

I certainly do agree!.!.!.

The same weight of air, equivalent to the weight of a plane would span across the far reaches of space!. So relatively, anything that is heavier than air would not be able to fly!.

Ofcourse this is a paradigm in itself as it seems to contradict the laws of physics!. Think along the lines of!.!.!.'which is heavier 1kg of gold or 1kg of feathers'!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

define 'fly'

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since you use the example of an aeroplane in your definition of 'fly'!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.and, since an aeroplane is normally heavier than a similar volume of 'air'!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!. you have answered your own questionWww@QuestionHome@Com

No, lots of things heavier than air can fly - in fact it's not strictly flying if it's lighter than air, it's floating!.!.!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

huh!? planes fly and they are heavier than air!Www@QuestionHome@Com

nothing heavier then say "I'm sorry"Www@QuestionHome@Com

Like those 100 tonne 747 jets, for example!?Www@QuestionHome@Com

Practically everything that flies is heavier than air - planes, gliders, birds, bats!.!.!.
Only things I can think of that are lighter than air and 'fly' (as opposed to float) are airships/blimps/zeppelins but even then floating may be a better word!.!.!.

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Sorry, Yaoi, but wings don't make a plane "lighter" than air - the plane is still a few hundred tons!. Wings, as Mr!. Tel says, provide lift (force) so it ascends!. The plane is no more lighter than air than I am when I apply force via my legs to jump (ascend) into the air!.!.!.

By "lighter than air" we generally mean "less dense" hence a lighter than air object floats in air!. At sea level, 1 cubic metre (35 cu!. ft) of dry air weighs 1!.286gm (0!.045 oz) - that's the density of air!.
So, to agree with the question, we would have to say that nothing denser than !.045 oz per 35 cu ft or about 1!.25 ounces for a cube 10 foot on each side!.
A loaded 747 weighs about 400 tons; its density is very much greater than that of air!

As for the weight, again at sea level, the weight of all that atmosphere on top of us is 14!.7 lbs per square inch or about 10 tonnes per square metre (11 square feet)!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

(Definition of fly as : "something made light enough to move through the air!." Why "made light enough"!? Because even a feather is heavier than air, so we must be talking something LIKE air--helium, oxygen, hydrogen, etc!.)

Yes, your proposition is correct; but wings make a plane lighter than air, by the draft over and below the wings!.

Ayn Rand said if you told a man 500 years ago he could hear a voice over the distance of 240,000 miles, he would call you a lunatic!.
But we heard the voices of the astronauts on the moon, that far away!. It is still as impossible to hear a voice that far, but we followed the laws of nature and transmitted that voice by radio!. "To command nature, one must obey nature!."

No person could get to England from the US in 8 hours, 100 years ago!.
You can't see the details of the moon from this distance--then along comes the telescope!.

Nothing heavier than air can fly!. Something has to make it lighter!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

What the **** are you talking about!?Www@QuestionHome@Com

Definitely!.

Luckily, though, all those birds and airplanes *don't* agree!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

how heavy is air exactly!?

is air heavier than birds and aeroplanes!?Www@QuestionHome@Com

Yes Socrates, even a child of three can see that this is true!.!.!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

The birds outside my window seem to be doing a very good job of flying right now!.!.!.!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

No, I disagree completely!.
To "fly", the object in question must be heavier than air!. Otherwise, it's "floating"!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

I think your empty, air head could fly!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

no!

even discounting man made technology, look at birds!Www@QuestionHome@Com

Boeing 747 !? !.!.!.!. all evidence to the contrary!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

Well, how 'heavy' air is depends on how much of it you have and how strong the gravitational pull anchoring it to the planet is!.

As being 'heavy' is dependant on circumstances and external forces, you could well argue that 'air' has the potential to be heavier on one planet than a jumbo jet on another!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

Aircraft are heavier than air, even when they're moving!. The wings gain lift because the air pressure underneath the wing is higher than the air pressure above!. This is due to the way the air is made to flow around the wing's cross-section!.

However, this is a philosophical question, so the short answer is I don't know what you're on about really!Www@QuestionHome@Com

How heavy is air!? If you compress it how heavy is it!?
It's compressed under a plane's wings so, you may well be right!.
Until someone explains how heavy air actually is, and how heavy a plane is, I'll agree with you!.

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Air!? I would assume it is the mix of gases in the atmosphere of our planet!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

I love philosophical debates, but there's no philosophy in this question!.

Just an attempt to confuse people with loose definitions of things that are actaully clearly understood and precisely defined!. Unless you're going to try to resurrect some schoolboy argument about the difference between mass and weight!?

Anyway, no, I don't agree!. Dense objects ("heavier than air")can be made to fly by manipulating the forces acting on them!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

Fundamentally, the only difference between air and an aircraft or a bird is density per unit volume!.
Its all made of the same stuff!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

weird

Nothing got no weight
Nothing can't fly!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

An aeroplane can fly!. A Boeing 747 weighs about 400 Tonnes, which is much heavier than an equivalent volume of air!. Air flowing over the curved surfaces of an aeroplanes wings generates an upwards-acting force on the wing, which is known as "lift"!. It is this that allows a plane to fly!. For an aeroplane to climb into the air the upwards acting "lift" must be greater than the downwards acting force of the aeroplanes weight!. This is why planes need such large wings - they are needed to create a lot of lift to counteract the huge downward force of weight!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

Yes, and iron ships do not float!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

No, nothing weaker than air can fly!. Air ways nothing!. So according to your theory, nothing can fly!. And yet we have great metal behemoths tearing across our skies daily!. Yet they achieve this due to their incredible power and thrust, this being stronger than gravity and the air combined!.

This is my opinion, and I would really like to hear the 'correct' theory as it is an interesting question!. Please e-mail it to me, or add me as a contactWww@QuestionHome@Com

i'm going to go ahead and echo everyone else here and say AIRPLANES, DUH!

but then, i'm also going to ask!.!.!. how much air are we talking about here!? i suppose you could be right if ALL the air in the atmosphere is counted, so that nothing weighing more than every molecule of air on earth combined can fly!.!.!. but i have no idea how much all the air on earth weighs, though i suppose it could be tested with water!.!.!. even then though it doesn't make sense, because coins sink in water, its not because they weigh more but because they are more dense!. your statement is far too simplistic, and my understanding to feeble!.!.!. this is all just ramblingWww@QuestionHome@Com

Err no, i reckon it had far more to do with aerodynamics!. On the face of it a bird or aeroplane is heavier than air and they both manage to fly!.!.!.!.!.Www@QuestionHome@Com