WHAT does a prehistoric sea monster have in common with a Spitfire?
At first sight there seems little resemblance between the four-flippered
plesiosaur Cryptoclidus and the famous fighter plane. But Robin O’Keefe
at the New York Institute of Technology has been comparing the wing aspect
ratios of Second World War planes with the “flipper aspect ratios” of
plesiosaurs.
Aspect ratios are a measure of shape, found by dividing a wing’s length by
its mean width. The high aspect ratio of the long, narrow wings of a glider or
bomber provides plenty of lift but limits manoeuvrability, whereas the low
aspect…
