How Does a Boomerang Work

Boomerangs are one of the oldest known human inventions. They are often associated with the aboriginal people of Australia, who used boomerangs for hunting and war up to 10 thousand years ago. So how do they work?



Boomerangs are one of the oldest known human inventions.

They are often associated with the aboriginal people of Australia, who used boomerangs for hunting and war up to 10 thousand years ago.

The world's oldest boomerang, believed to be over 20 thousand years old, was discovered in the Carpathian Mountains of Poland.

But have you ever wondered how they come back to people after they throw them?

Darren Tan, a PhD student in physics at Oxford University explains: "When the boomerang spins, one wing is actually moving through the air faster than the other as the boomerang is moving forward as a whole. As the top wing is spinning forward, the lift force on that wing is greater and results in unbalanced forces that gradually turns the boomerang."



As it turns, the lift force on either side of the boomerang creates a consistent torque that makes it loop around back towards where it was thrown from.

Tan is the star of a Science Samurai video that he made to teach high school students about the physics of boomerangs, and how to make one with just three strips of cardboard stapled together in a certain way.