Originally posted by emmett
I don't think that what happens with the confetti relates in any significant way to the drafting effects we are talking about. It just shows where the tail eddys and turbulence and, perhaps how it moves.
Actually that is exactly what we are looking for. It tells us that a swimmer passing through the quiescent water will accelerate that water in the direction he/she is swimming. All it tells us is it's possible to draft, though. It tells us some of that swimmer's (or hand's) energy has been transferred into moving the water forward. It doesn't really help answer the question of whether the lead swimmer is helped or hindered by a drafting swimmer, though.
Originally posted by emmett
I don't think that what happens with the confetti relates in any significant way to the drafting effects we are talking about. It just shows where the tail eddys and turbulence and, perhaps how it moves.
Actually that is exactly what we are looking for. It tells us that a swimmer passing through the quiescent water will accelerate that water in the direction he/she is swimming. All it tells us is it's possible to draft, though. It tells us some of that swimmer's (or hand's) energy has been transferred into moving the water forward. It doesn't really help answer the question of whether the lead swimmer is helped or hindered by a drafting swimmer, though.
