Blowing You Out of This World: Wind Tunnels

How do engineers and designers know if a car’s design is aerodynamic? They test models in a wind tunnel. A wind tunnel is a tool used to study the effects of air moving around an object. After a car designer has created a clay model car, it is brought into the tunnel, where a special instrument blows air at the car, simulating the way a car drives through air. The car is loaded with sensors and instruments that report data back to computers. Since the test car is made of clay, the designers can make changes to the car’s angles and curves and immediately see how these changes affect the aerodynamics of the car.

Check out this video to see the Production Volt in the wind tunnel.

What other types of objects do you think get tested in wind tunnels? Many objects, from boats, to planes, to NASA space shuttles, to golf balls! Even the Wright Brothers built a wind tunnel more than a century ago to test the efficiency of different wing structures on their early airplanes.

Want to build your own wind tunnel? Check out this student’s science fair project on PBS Kids and gather tips on how to make your own.