So… as the snake moves through the air it is continually changing its shape and its trajectory. I think what they mean is that at SOME points during its flight the snake can produce forces (using its body and its angle of attack) that are enough to not only counteract gravity but produce a positive force upwards. But, in the end, it can’t do that forever–though it does make for really cool videos!

If anyone out there has a better idea, feel free to chime in, I’m no physics expert!

Thanks for reading and commenting, all!

Jen

Nature doesn’t lie.

I’m not sure what the final sentence here means: “‘Hypothetically, this means that if the snake continued on like this, it would eventually be moving upward in the air — quite an impressive feat for a snake…. But our modeling suggests that the effect is only temporary, and eventually the snake hits the ground to end the glide.’” Only temporary in that the snake stops the activity that makes that hypothetically upward effect? Or is there some other sort of self-terminating effect inherent in the activity, the physics of it? (Certainly birds land eventually.)

What I’m surest it means is that a snake has not been seen energetically proceeding to actually generate an upward trajectory. I’d certainly think it likely that they do not try to in nature, that they’re conceivably always looking for downward/across fall patterns. But I’d like to know: What would happen if (somehow, in a contrived setting/situation) you tried to train one of these snakes to travel in a path that at least ends having gone upward at some point? Could you train one of these snakes to energetically try to “swim” upward, or, if you tried, what would happen?