After a noticeable rise in the prevalence of home runs beginning in 2015, Major League Baseball commissioned a report that found the increase was caused by a small 3% reduction Keep reading
Tag: drag
Superhydrophobic Drag
Using air or bubbles to reduce drag on boats is a popular idea, whether using supercavitation, the Leidenfrost effect, or superhydrophobic coatings. But most of the experiments done thus far Keep reading
Hammerhead Hydrodynamics
Hammerhead sharks have some of the most distinctive craniums in the ocean, which begs the question: how do they swim with that head? New computational fluid dynamics studies suggest that Keep reading
Superman’s Hair Gel
I love a good tongue-in-cheek physical analysis of superheroes. This estimate of the drag force experienced by Superman’s hair when outracing a plane or speeding bullet was done by Cornell Keep reading
If You Teach a Goose to Fly
Scientists do all manner of odd things in the name of science. To teach bar-headed geese – birds capable of flying at the altitude of Everest – to fly in Keep reading
Entraining Bubbles
If you stand on a bridge and watch the current flow past pylons below, you’ll see disturbances marking the wakes. Dragging a rod – or an oar – at a high Keep reading
Paddling
When I lived in New England, I often spent summers paddling around a lake in either a kayak or canoe. Every stroke was an opportunity to stare down into the Keep reading
The Flutter of Kelp
Many species of kelp change their blade shape depending on the current they experience. In fast-moving waters, the kelp grows flat blades, but when the water around them is slower, Keep reading
Swimming, Cycling, and Sailing
Summer brings with it lots of great sports, and whether you love riding a bike, sailing a boat, or just hanging out at the pool, our latest FYFD/JFM video has Keep reading
The Telstar 18
Every four years, Adidas creates a newly designed ball for the World Cup. This year’s version is the Telstar 18, which features six glued panels (no stitching!) with a slightly Keep reading