This may be opening a can of worms here, but I'm having an argument with someone in my group. If someone is drafting off of you in a pool set (like 4x200 SCY), does it hurt your effort? Does the lead swimmer have to work harder or experience some other negative benefit?
I've read a bit about aerodynamics and it would seem that in car racing, the lead car actually gets a positive benefit, but I'm not sure if that's true in swimming.
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This may be opening a can of worms here, but I'm having an argument with someone in my group. If someone is drafting off of you in a pool set (like 4x200 SCY), does it hurt your effort? psychology put aside, from pure physics perspective the answer is no. Absolutely not.
The lead swimmer is not *towing* the back swimmer. Drag is caused (in this case) by the difference in pressure between in-front and behind.
By moving (legs, body etc), the lead swimmer is moving the water, troubling the water thus causing a depression. Then the difference between pressure in front of the back swimmer and that behind the back swimmer is lessen.
Probably not clear at this point.... (I can feel it, when I am not clear). Do you know a bit about diving? Referring to the 10m platform here.
A diver dives from 10m, the water surface is perfectly flat. Diver does a *flat* (outch that hurts). Diver goes back up on its 10m platform. The coach now turns on the huge bubbling system. Water surface is all troubled now. Pressure is lessen. Diver tries a second attempt, fall flat again. This second flat will not hurt as bad since the difference of pressure between the *in-front* (water sufrace) and the *behind* (air) is lessen.
So it is the fact of moving the water, troubling it that makes the back swimmer's life easier. Front swimmer can not feel this.
This may be opening a can of worms here, but I'm having an argument with someone in my group. If someone is drafting off of you in a pool set (like 4x200 SCY), does it hurt your effort? psychology put aside, from pure physics perspective the answer is no. Absolutely not.
The lead swimmer is not *towing* the back swimmer. Drag is caused (in this case) by the difference in pressure between in-front and behind.
By moving (legs, body etc), the lead swimmer is moving the water, troubling the water thus causing a depression. Then the difference between pressure in front of the back swimmer and that behind the back swimmer is lessen.
Probably not clear at this point.... (I can feel it, when I am not clear). Do you know a bit about diving? Referring to the 10m platform here.
A diver dives from 10m, the water surface is perfectly flat. Diver does a *flat* (outch that hurts). Diver goes back up on its 10m platform. The coach now turns on the huge bubbling system. Water surface is all troubled now. Pressure is lessen. Diver tries a second attempt, fall flat again. This second flat will not hurt as bad since the difference of pressure between the *in-front* (water sufrace) and the *behind* (air) is lessen.
So it is the fact of moving the water, troubling it that makes the back swimmer's life easier. Front swimmer can not feel this.
