What Makes a Boomerang Return?
Boomerangs are V-shaped devices, opening at an angle anywhere from 90° to 160°, depending on their use. There are two types of boomerangs, the returning and the non-returning. The best known type is the returning. When thrown correctly, this type returns to the thrower without his moving and so is used mainly for fun or in sport
Yes, it is asymmetry that makes them return, but not the asymmetry of their crooked design. Rather, it is asymmetrical lift. Like the rotary wing of a helicopter, when the boomerang is rotating one side (the side going into the wind) generates more lift than the other. This side rises up, causing the entire device to “bank”. What aviators refer to as “the horizontal component of lift” then makes it turn. Without an atmosphere, the boomerang would just fly straight along a ballistic trajectory.
