"mOn mOnde" - Technically Mechanical

The boomerang is a scientific marvel as it envisions the aerodynamic as well as aviation principles coupled with many theorems of Physics. It is all the more striking, nay, bewildering that these principles of aviation and theorems of physics were unerringly utilized thousands of years before they were even invented. Most of us are familiar with the boomerang, the wonderful stick that returns when you throw it. However, most of us don't know the history of the boomerang or the complex physics and aerodynamics involved. This device is simply amazing, and a wonderful application of some laws of physics relating to aerodynamic lift and angular momentum. To understand why a boomerang returns, one must look at the shape of the boomerang, the aerodynamics and physics.

HOW DOES IT WORK?
The Science of the Boomerang’s Return Flight


The Australian Aborigines were experts in boomerang construction and throwing as a result of centuries of experience, but they did not understand why a boomerang returned when they threw it. The secret of boomerang flight still confounds many people. No two boomerangs will perform in an identical way. The surfaces of their arms cannot be exactly identical and so, as the boomerang spins through the air, the effect of the wind on the surfaces is slightly different on each one. Sometimes, but not always, the lifting arm is slightly lighter than the other and has an angled tip.

The really short version: Boomerangs return as a result of the principles of aerodynamic lift and gyroscopic precession.