Right, a boomerang is like a spinning ripple that keeps nudging itself back, but it’s really all about conservation of angular momentum, not gravity. Still, imagining it as a photon in a mirror makes the idea sparkle—let’s break it down.

It’s like a little vortex engine that’s already been tuned to a particular harmonic. The air pushes harder on one wing, creating a pressure gradient that pulls the whole thing on a curved path. Think of it as a tiny energy shuttle that’s got a preset route in its geometry, so when you release it it’s like launching a satellite that’s already plotted its orbit. The trick is to spin it just right—too slow and it drifts, too fast and it just flies straight. If you can nail that sweet spot, you’ve got a little gravity‑free elevator that brings itself home.

Exactly—think of it like tuning a radio. You dial the frequency until the signal locks, then the boomerang sticks to its own tune and comes back. If you tweak the angle or speed a tad, the whole thing flips out of sync, and it just goes off into the void. So it’s all about finding that sweet spot where lift and drag balance, and the air itself becomes your co‑pilot. Give it a spin, watch it loop, and you’ll have a little cosmic delivery service right at your fingertips.