This Is How Winglets Work

Watch a Swirly, Colorful NASA Vortex Test From the '70s

These mesmerizing spirals that appear behind airplane wings are known as vortices. When there’s enough humidity in the air, the drop in air pressure and temperature caused by the aircraft’s turbines makes water vapor condense, revealing these swirling trails. They often form during takeoff or landing, when the pressure difference between the upper and lower parts of the wing is strongest. What you’re seeing isn’t smoke — it’s pure physics made visible, a glimpse into the invisible forces that ke