Dispersal Mechanisms: Seeds can be dispersed long distances by wind because they move in updrafts. Have you ever blown on a dandelion head and watched the seeds float away? In the wake of their golden days of flowering, the tops of dandelion plants mature into dozens of flight-ready seeds, each tethered to its own personal parachute. National corporate funding for NOVA is provided by Draper. This structure prolongs the descent of seeds by dragging on the air a bit like a parachute, ensuring that horizontal winds can help carry the seeds farther. And dandelion seeds, it would seem, have a knack for turning nothing into a whole lotta something. Once fertilisation has taken place the plant will produce seeds. Dandelion may often be mistaken for chicory since both form toothed leaves that form from a basal rosette. There was a second effect, too: By generating super-efficient drag, the pappus’ porosity also has the perk of keeping the seed’s flight stable. The physics behind dandelion seed plume dispersal revealed. The results revealed a fragile balancing act between two opposing forces. "The physics behind dandelion seed plume dispersal revealed." The work can potentially be applied to miniaturizing MAVs useful for remote observation and dispersion in a range of applications, from agriculture to space exploration, especially in conditions hazardous to humans. We conclude that long‐distance dispersal of seeds of herbaceous species with falling velocities < 0.5 ‐ … Now, two recent studies reveal the physics behind their fanciful flight. Longevity: Dandelion seeds are not long lived in the soil. ScienceDaily. The Secret Life of Scientists and Engineers. Image Credit: Bess Hamitii, Shutterstock. The answer, according to research team member Cathal Cummins, is in the vortex. Major funding for NOVA is provided by the David H. Koch Fund for Science, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and PBS viewers. But maybe that’s part of the beauty of this dazzlingly simple system. A fair compromise, the researchers found, is for the seeds to hit a sweet spot around 100 bristles per pappus. This fast-moving funnel was so good at recycling air that it generated an ever-present pocket of low pressure just above the seed, sucking it upward into an easy, breezy cruise—and delaying its inevitable descent. We have the best simulations ever in the products of evolution.”. Image Credit: Bess Hamitii, Shutterstock. Receive emails about upcoming NOVA programs and related content, as well as featured reporting about current events through a science lens. Note: Content may be edited for style and length. "Our research shows that the dandelion's parachute is an exquisite example of less is more," Cummins said. Image Credit: Bess Hamitii, Shutterstock. With two recent studies, the physics behind dandelion seed dispersal is now taking flight. But because the pappus is porous, some air flows through it instead, streaming between the bristles of the seed’s thin toupee. (2017, November 20). Previous models of the dandelion fruit considered that each parachute filament acts independently, and that the total drag force supplied by the parachute can be found by adding up each of these contributions. "When skydivers jump from high up in the atmosphere, there are many questions to consider," Cummins said. They don’t float away but flutter to the ground. American Physical Society's Division of Fluid Dynamics. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/11/171120090045.htm (accessed November 29, 2020). This leads to a quadrupling of the drag coefficient compared with an impervious membrane, such as a wing section. Seed dispersal allows plants to spread out from a wide area and avoid competing with one another for the same resources.