Editing Wingtip vortices (section)

== Generation of trailing vortices ==
[[File:Tip vortex rollup.png|thumb|Euler computation of a tip vortex rolling up from the trailed vorticity sheet.]]
When a wing generates [[lift (force)|aerodynamic lift]], it results in a region of downwash between the two vortices.<ref>{{cite conference |last=McLean |first=Doug |date=2005 |title=Wingtip Devices: What They Do and How They Do It |page=4.5 |conference=2005 Boeing Performance and Flight Operations Engineering Conference |url=http://www.smartcockpit.com/docs/Wingtip_Devices.pdf |quote=The vortex cores are often referred to as "wingtip vortices," though this is a bit of a misnomer. While it is true that the cores line up fairly closely behind the wingtips, the term "wingtip vortices" implies that the wingtips are the sole sources of the vortices. Actually, as we saw in Figure 3.2, the vorticity that feeds into the cores generally comes from the entire span of the trailing edge, not just from the wingtips.}}</ref><ref name="McLean"/>{{rp|at=8.1.1}}<ref>{{YouTube|id=QKCK4lJLQHU|t=30m46s|title=Doug McLean, Common Misconceptions in Aerodynamics}}</ref>

Three-dimensional lift and the occurrence of wingtip vortices can be approached with the concept of [[horseshoe vortex]] and described accurately with the [[Lifting-line theory|Lanchester–Prandtl theory]]. In this view, the trailing vortex is a continuation of the ''wing-bound vortex'' inherent to the lift generation.