Friday, May 25, 2012

Physics of Sailing

One of the best vids I have seen on the subject.  Please go to full screen.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I dont agree. For example, that square riggers worked on a different principle than modern boats is at best inaccurate., As a physicist myself, I think Bernoullis principle is not actually the best way of explaining these things. Think about why an airplane can fly upside down...

Anonymous said...

As a sailing enthousiast and engineer, i got to say i see the physics differently. Yes a resultant force. No to the wing analogy. But the fact that the hull is shaped to carve through the water is the reason the boat finds the direction of least resistance. The keel does not provide lift but merely direction.