We have all seen them flying around, specially on warm nights, near lakes or puddles, big and small, and of almost all colors they come in: Dragonflies.

I personally love them, I find them so beautiful and graceful, and so interesting, how they undergo a transformation from being water insects in their early lives to later emerging from the water and becoming airbourne. They are one of the fastest insects alive, both under and above water (earning them the nickname of torpedeos when in water.)

So I was delighted to find an article -in one of the many physics blogs I tend to read- on the physics of Dragonfly Flight. The article is relatively short but good. It first gives an introduction on the basics of flight dynamics, and then it explains how dragonflies fly. In short, lots of good physics applied to the real world.

Enjoy.

Cheers, NM