Yesterday morning, I was watching the ESPN In The Classroom program about drag. Amanda Beard was the athelete guest host. It didn't mention anything about lift. It talked about the effects that the new suits are having on reducing drag. I am very confused, partially because that is my life, about reducing drag while swimming. It seems to me that if you reduce drag too much, you're going to reduce lift also.
Lift and drag are opposite forces that form an "L". Which of the three forms of drag are reduced by the new suits, and which of the three do you want to remain to promote forward movement? The product of lift and drag is the foward movement from the center of the "L". That force is what moves you forward. Or so I thought.
The program did talk about high and low pressures. I understand that in front of you there is a high pressure and a low pressure behind. that nature prefers low pressure and that there is a struggle to move through the high pressure. The program also mentioned near the end about hydroplanning. If I understand correctly, that's how Johnny-Tarzan swam.
Can anyone explain this to me in terms that I can understand. Please keep in mind that I was an anthropology major at a very liberal Liberal Arts college.
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Originally posted by knelson
Our bodies don't create significant lift while swimming and there's no reason to want them to. You're wrong about lift and drag being opposite forces. As you said they form an L, i.e. drag is a force opposing forward motion while lift is a force perpendicular to this. Reducing form drag is what these high tech suits strive for.
In the simplest terms we use our arms and legs to produce thrust (this is the force opposite to drag). We want to do this as efficiently as possible so we can produce the maximum thrust while producing as little drag as possible.
Opposite and equal. I thought that thrust was the force that begins at the center of the "L". Is it possible to really reduce drag as we are increasing thrust. Is it that we want to produce more of one type of the three drags (Yes I'm laughing at the thought of drag queens at a swim meet.)?
It seems to me that in ways we are saying that swimming is a special event that denies physics.
Originally posted by knelson
Our bodies don't create significant lift while swimming and there's no reason to want them to. You're wrong about lift and drag being opposite forces. As you said they form an L, i.e. drag is a force opposing forward motion while lift is a force perpendicular to this. Reducing form drag is what these high tech suits strive for.
In the simplest terms we use our arms and legs to produce thrust (this is the force opposite to drag). We want to do this as efficiently as possible so we can produce the maximum thrust while producing as little drag as possible.
Opposite and equal. I thought that thrust was the force that begins at the center of the "L". Is it possible to really reduce drag as we are increasing thrust. Is it that we want to produce more of one type of the three drags (Yes I'm laughing at the thought of drag queens at a swim meet.)?
It seems to me that in ways we are saying that swimming is a special event that denies physics.
