In a comment on this recent post regarding drafting advantages to a leader, reader fey-ruz asks: in cycling, team follow cars are required to maintain a minimum distance from their riders Keep reading
Tag: q&a
Reader Question: Resonating Bottles
Reader shoebill-san asks: why does it make that weird sound when i blow over a bottle? i did a science experiment in college where we looked at the resonance in Keep reading
Reader Question: Rudders
Reader le-mec writes: My question involves “fenestrated rudders”, a Chinese invention that involved cutting diamond-shaped holes in the rudders of ancient Chinese sailing ships (known as Junks). According to several Keep reading
Reader Question: Lift
everyonelikespotatissallad asks: so, how is lift actually generated? i’ve been going through Anderson’s Introduction to Flight (6th Ed.) and while it offers the derivation of various equations very thoroughly, it barely Keep reading
Reader Question: Submarines
Reader elimik asks: Why do modern submarines have round bows instead of pointy ones, like the early WWII ones? Interestingly, there are more factors that affect this design choice than Keep reading
Reader Question: Winglets
Reader tvargo writes: First off… love your blog! I know very little about physics, but love reading about it. Could you potentially explain what the little upturned ends of wings Keep reading
Reader Question: Fractals and Turbulence
Reader 3d-time asks: Hi, there is a guy, at my college, who is doing a master’s degree thesis in turbulence. He says he uses fractals and computational methods. Can you Keep reading
Reader Question: What is Surface Tension?
Last week reader thesnazz asked: Is there a difference between surface tension and viscosity, or are they two manifestations of the same process and/or principles? If you know a given Keep reading
Reader Question: What is Viscosity?
Reader thesnazz asks: Is there a difference between surface tension and viscosity, or are they two manifestations of the same process and/or principles? If you know a given fluid’s surface Keep reading
Reader Question: Non-Coalescing Droplets
Reader ancientavian asks: I’ve often noticed that, when water splashes (especially as with raindrops or other forms of spray), often it appears that small droplets of water skitter off on Keep reading