Kites and catching the wind
Physics · Early Years · The School
What a kite needs
A kite needs the right shape, so it can catch the wind. It needs a string, held by you, to keep it steady in the air. And it needs one more thing, without which nothing else works at all: wind.
Catching the wind
A kite's shape is angled, tilted against the moving air. As the wind rushes past, it pushes up underneath the kite. That push holds the kite up in the sky, the same way a parachute's canopy catches air on the way down.
No wind, no flying
Even the best kite in the world will not fly on a completely still day. You can run with it. You can hold it up high. Without wind pushing against it, it simply will not lift into the air.
Take a kite outside on a breezy day. Let out the string, and it lifts, climbing higher and higher, tugging at your hand. Take the exact same kite out on a completely still day instead. Run with it as fast as you can. It barely lifts off the ground, and drops again the moment you slow down. Same kite. Same shape. Same string. The only thing missing is the wind — and that missing thing changes everything.