Enigma of the Aerofoil
Rival Theories in Aerodynamics, 1909-1930
Why do aircraft fly? How do their wings support them? In the early years of aviation, there was an intense dispute between British and German experts over the question of why and how an aircraft wing provides lift. The British, under the leadership of the great Cambridge mathematical physicist Lord Rayleigh, produced highly elaborate investigations of the nature of discontinuous flow, while the Germans, following Ludwig Prandtl in Gottingen, relied on the tradition called "technical mechanics" to explain the flow of air around a wing. Much of the basis of modern aerodynamics emerged from this remarkable episode, yet it has never been subject to a detailed historical and sociological analysis.
In "The Enigma of the Aerofoil", David Bloor probes a neglected aspect of this important period in the history of aviation. Bloor draws upon papers by the participants – their restricted technical reports, meeting minutes, and personal correspondence, much of which has never before been published – and reveals the impact that the divergent mathematical traditions of Cambridge and Gottingen had on this great debate. Bloor also addresses why the British, even after discovering the failings of their own theory, remained resistant to the German circulation theory for more than a decade. The result is essential reading for anyone studying the history, philosophy, or sociology of science or technology – and for all those intrigued by flight.
Reviews
"A masterpiece of writing and research. David Bloor brings his varied background to the table, writing the only book that describes a wonderful mixture of the scientific, historical, philosophical, and sociological forces that help to explain the 'enigma' of the aerofoil" – John D. Anderson Jr., National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution
"David Bloor's 'The Enigma of the Aerofoil' sets out to explain the development of aerodynamics in Britain and Germany early in the twentieth century. Why, he asks, was it in Germany, and not in Britain, that practitioners produced a fusion of theory with aerofoil design when the basic concept upon which the Germans relied, that of circulation about an aerofoil with the flow treated otherwise as an ideal fluid, had long before been used by Rayleigh in Britain for the flight of a tennis ball? Bloor probes this 'enigma', combining deft analysis of the technical arguments involved with a sure examination of the social frameworks within which his several protagonists worked. Along the way, he grapples with the character of reasoning and practice when scientific theory confronts engineering reality. Written by a founder of the strong program in the sociology of science, Bloor's Enigma is among the very finest histories that raise these difficult and important questions – one that succeeds by refusing to break the intellectual from the social, and both from the exigencies of engineering practice" – Jed Z. Buchwald, California Institute of Technology
"In 'The Enigma of the Aerofoil', David Bloor paints a seamless picture of how and why British and German theorists struggled, typically in different ways, to make an aerodynamic theory that corresponded even approximately with aeronautical practice. In doing so, Bloor gives us a stark reminder of the extraordinary power – and the limits – of mathematics and mathematicians in their many guises. As a result this book will help redefine what we take the central sciences and technologies of the twentieth century to be, and how we study them" – David Edgerton, Imperial College London
