John bikes, runs, plays chess, and enjoys model rocketry. He wants to be an aeronautical engineer to combine his math skills with his interest in rockets.
An article in Science News highlighted efforts by NASA to measure air turbulence along the leading edge of a wing. John realized that a deeper understanding of the physics of turbulence could lead to more efficient airplanes, lower fuel consumption, and less expensive travel. He set out to find an inexpensive and accurate way to measure swirling air around a wing.
John built an 8-foot-long wind tunnel and aimed a helium-neon laser through a Plexiglas window in the tunnel's side. He set up a beam splitter and a polarizer in front of the tunnel and a second polarizer and light detector behind the tunnel. He placed a wing in the tunnel and measured the change in the angle of polarization on different parts of the wing. He checked his results with a device called a Pitot tube, which measures changes in wind pressure, and found the results to be consistent with his laser setup. He took his results to the scientists who operate a wind tunnel at the University of Dayton, who appeared interested in the approach.
