Originally posted by butterflybeer
Professor Cussler's main point was that Reynolds Numbers (a measurent of the turbulence or viscosity of a fluid) have little or no effect on the velocity of swimmers.
This can't really be true because Reynolds number includes velocity as one of its factors. Reynolds number is a unitless quantity equal to velocity multiplied by a characteristic length divided by viscosity. It is sometimes described as the ratio of intertial to viscous forces. You can't even calculate a Reynolds number without knowing the swimmer's velocity.
Originally posted by butterflybeer
Professor Cussler's main point was that Reynolds Numbers (a measurent of the turbulence or viscosity of a fluid) have little or no effect on the velocity of swimmers.
This can't really be true because Reynolds number includes velocity as one of its factors. Reynolds number is a unitless quantity equal to velocity multiplied by a characteristic length divided by viscosity. It is sometimes described as the ratio of intertial to viscous forces. You can't even calculate a Reynolds number without knowing the swimmer's velocity.
