News for hackers. Stuff that matters.

A comment on A Fundamental Principle of Aeronautical Engineering Has Been Overturned. Parent comment

Re:A Fundamental Principle of Aeronautical Engineering Has B... by rogerrogerr on Sunday May 24, 2026 @10:58PM (#48263021)
It’s probably operationally easier to keep surfaces smooth than to keep them a specific amount of roughness.
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:A Fundamental Principle of Aeronautical Engineering Has B... by greggsy on Sunday May 24, 2026 @11:21PM (#48263126)
It’s presumably easier to keep a smooth surface clear of bugs, dust and ice too.
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:A Fundamental Principle of Aeronautical Engineering Has B... by swasheck on Sunday May 24, 2026 @11:02PM (#48263043)
yeah. what are the effects of too much roughness? may be safer and easier to maintain at smooth than at a specific roughness spec
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:A Fundamental Principle of Aeronautical Engineering Has B... by delecti on Monday May 25, 2026 @12:53PM (#48268964)
Also matters a bit what happens to a surface that they don't do anything to. Does a precisely rough surface get too rough or too smooth? Does a precisely smooth surface get rougher in a way that's beneficial?

Could be the case that in-practice this means they just worry less as their perfectly smooth planes get a bit rough.

[ Parent | on HN ]