area rule (English, noun)
expansion: area rule
Senses:
topics: aerodynamics
aerospace
business
engineering
natural-sciences
physical-sciences
physics
glosses: A rule stating that an airplane designed with the same cross-sectional area distribution in the longitudinal direction as the Sears-Haack body generates the same wave drag as this body, largely independent of the actual shape; used in aerodynamics to reduce drag, typically by narrowing the fuselage at the wing roots.
Forms: