Understanding boomerangs

(Published on 7 August 2007 in 'Women at Work' - W @ W - a supplement of the Daily Mirror, Colombo, Sri Lanka)

God bless relatives… they come up with the most amazing ways of harassing you. My cousin returned from a trip to Australia with a boomerang. A whole family picnic was planned, far away from the concrete jungle that we lived in, so that the boomerang could be tested.

It was no easy task – for the boomerang refused to do what it was supposed to do – return to the thrower. Many an expert tried their hand and voiced their adroit opinions but to no avail. The picnic seemed to loose meaning as everyone seemed disappointed with the unyielding boomerang. The literature that came along with the boomerang was read aloud, and then re-read one-by-one. We came to the firm conclusion that probably it was our comprehension skills that was at fault. Why was it that the amazing application of complex laws of physics was escaping us?

Boomerangs are curved devices that return to you when you throw them. The specially crafted, lightweight piece of wood has basically two wings connected in a banana-shape.
When thrown correctly, a returning boomerang is supposed to fly through the air in a circular path and arrive back at its starting point. A straight piece of wood, when thrown will simply keep going in one direction, until gravity pulls it to the ground.

The working of a boomerang makes perfect sense once we understand the physical forces at work. The classic banana-shaped boomerang has two wings and that is the reason for its characteristic flight path. The two component parts make the boomerang spin about a central point, stabilising its motion as it travels through the air. The wings are set at a slight tilt and are rounded on one side and flat on the other - similar to the shape, of the wings of an aeroplane. Air particles move more quickly over the top of the wing than they do along the bottom of the wing. This creates a difference in air pressure. The wing has lift when it moves because there is greater pressure below it than above it. As a result of the stabilising motion of the two wings, the boomerang stays aloft longer.

It is not really very clear when and where people first developed boomerangs. Aborigines of Australia are credited with the invention. Aborigines used wooden weapons called Kylies for hunting. It is believed that they discovered boomerangs by accident while using their Kylies. The Aborigines perfected the boomerang design and throwing technique for the simple fun of it.

We are already planning our next picnic. My cousin promises he has mastered the art of throwing the boomerang. I doubt it though – any stick thrown within the four walls of his tiny apartment will bounce back to him. No dexterity required here.

Miss Know-All
miss.know.all@gmail.com