The Physics of Boomerangs It seems that the successful flight of a boomerang should never happen. Its more or less circular flight path results from the interaction of two physical phenomena: the aerodynamic lift of the boomerang's arms and the maintenance of the angular momentum of the rotating boomerang. In short, the airfoil on the front rolling edge of the boomerang provides more lift than the rear rolling edge. This raises one side of the boomerang. The rotating object maintains angular momentum by turning at right angles to its axis of rotation. When the rotation and speed of the boomerang are just right, it flies away and returns in an aesthetically pleasing circle. The boomerang's distinctive flight begins with its aerodynamic properties. Boomerangs come in a variety of shapes. Traditional shapes are variations of the L with equally long arms. There are also boomerangs with three or even four arms radiating from a center. And there are delta boomerangs.1 Whatever the configuration, every boomerang has aerodynamic profiles at its ends. Looking outward from the boomerang's center of rotation, the left side of the blade is the leading edge of the airfoil for right-handed throwers.2 As the boomerang spins, the airfoils on its perimeter create lift. Our text, Physics: A World View, discusses aerodynamics and Bernoulli's principle. Explain the relationship between the velocity of a fluid and the pressure that the fluid exerts. A fluid gains energy when it accelerates, such as when it passes through a constriction in a pipe or around an airfoil. Since gravitational potential energy is constant, the change occurs in kinetic energy. Since there is an acceleration of the fluid, the print...... half of the paper ......d San Francisco. McGraw-Hill Company Limited, 1982. 20-21.5http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/K-12/airplane/bern.html. I also visited several Google, “boomerang” sites, although I didn't draw on them for this project. They generally have some (undocumented) history/anthropology, some physics, and casting instructions. For example: http://www.gel-boomerang.com/ and http://www.boomerangs.org/ (pictures of some strange shapes). This is consistent with my experience. Trying to give the boomerang more spin mainly has the effect of making the throw unnatural and therefore prone to flying to the ground.7 When she was in college, my daughter often suggested “throwing a boomerang” as a first date. His idea was that he learned a lot about a boy by seeing him face miserable failures - a certainty the first time he goes out with a boomerang - in a seemingly simple athletic pursuit..