Scientists have found that some birds may have a ‘heads up display’ enabling them to navigate. They found this by assessing their ability to fly at night.
It’s well known that birds, such as the European Robin, can detect the Earth’s magnetic field in order to help them navigate on long migratory flights.
This ‘compass’ sense must be associated with the eyeball, because the birds cannot detect magnetic fields in darkness.
But now Oxford University and National University of Singapore scientists have shown that birds may really ‘see’ the invisible force of magnetism, giving them a compass on top of their normal vision: rather like aircraft ‘head up displays’ which overlay crucial navigation information on a transparent screen in front of the pilot.
Birds evolved compass ‘head up display’ [PhysOrg]
An innocent question on Quora morphed into an incredibly comprehensive explanation of just about every switch, lever and button on a Boeing 737.
Every airplane is different. Unlike learning to drive a car, you can’t just hop from one plane to another. A pilot needs familiarization (and in some cases, a whole new type of license) to fly a different kind of plane. Some are piston-powered; some are jet-powered. Some have electrically-driven controls; some are hydraulically-driven. Some have emergency oxygen; some don’t. And so on. All the switches, dials, and knobs in the cockpit control the various aircraft systems, and every aircraft has different systems.
What do all the controls in an airplane cockpit do? [Quora]
And finally, I don’t know whether to laugh or cry at this…
