Photo: Quieter Aircraft to Take Cues From Birds, NASA Expert Says

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A passenger jet takes off from an airport near the Luxor Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada. New bird-inspired technologies are helping engineers design quieter aircraft, according to a NASA acoustics expert. The chevron nozzle, for example, is attached to the back of a jet engine, where it mimics the serrated pattern of some birds' wings to reduce turbulence and thus dampen noise.

Photograph by Maria Stenzel/NGS

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