If you are somewhat familiar with basic aerodynamics, you've probably heard of the term "stall". Wikipedia, the ever-so-accurate online database of all knowledge, past and present, has some great information on stalls and how they relate to both air travel and jet engines.
The basic explanation of stall is when an airfoil loses it's ability to create lift due to an angle of attack that is too great. Check out the information below ... (at your own risk for you Wikipedia haters :) )
I've put together a simple 2D wing profile to show what happens to the air flow around the wing as the angle of attack is increased slowly from 0 to 30 degrees. Air separation is clearly visible through looking at velocity over the wing, the reduction in negative pressure on the top of the wing clearly shows the loss of lift, and air turbulence helps to illustrate the onset of the separation zone. Enjoy...
A summary of the lift and drag forces versus angle of attack is shown below. The wing I created has a critical angle of about 14 degrees.
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