Flight is the process by which an object moves either through the air, or movement beyond earth's atmosphere (as in the case of spaceflight), by generating lift, propulsive thrust or aerostatically using buoyancy, or by simple ballistic movement.
Humans, although not apparently other animals, have managed to construct lighter than air vehicles that fly due to their buoyancy in air.
Some things that fly are not pushed forwards through the air and ...
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Flight is the process by which an object moves either through the air, or movement beyond earth's atmosphere (as in the case of spaceflight), by generating lift, propulsive thrust or aerostatically using buoyancy, or by simple ballistic movement.
Humans, although not apparently other animals, have managed to construct lighter than air vehicles that fly due to their buoyancy in air.
Some things that fly are not pushed forwards through the air and can only glide, for example flying squirrels, this is termed gliding. Others have a source of useful forward power and can climb, this is termed powered flight.
The most successful groups of living things that fly are insects, birds, and bats. The extinct Pterosaurs, an order of reptiles contemporaneous with the dinosaurs, were also very successful flying animals. Each of these groups' wings evolved independently. The wings of the flying vertebrate groups are all based on the forelimbs, but differ significantly in structure; those of insects...
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