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Physics of swimming

ACorb16

Entry posted by ACorb16

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Physics of Swimming

When i first looked up the physics of swimming, i got many different answers. There were many different ways that swimming can tie into physics. I am going to give a formula that is on the refrence table and can relate to because weve used it in physics class before.

To kick 100 meters it takes 80 seconds. When kicking, a swimmer can travel at a velocity of 1.25 m/s. To pull 100 meters it takes 60 seconds. When pulling, a swimmer can travel at a velocity of 1.6 m/s. To swim 100 meters with both the arms and the legs it would take 50 seconds. When swimming using both the arms and the legs, a swimmer has a velocity of 2 m/s. The arms therefore generate more propulsion than the legs. The propulsion generated by the legs is 62%. The propulsion generated by the arms is 83%. The ratio of pull to kick is 1.3, meaning that the pull is 1.3 times greater than the kick. Water applies a force perpendicular to each surface of the swimmer's body.

F = PA

The force acting perpendicular to the surface of the swimmer's body is equal to the pressure acting on the swimmer mulitiplied by the surface area. For example, if the Pressure acting on the back of a swimmer's hand 1.3 x 10^5 Pa and the surface area of the back of the hand is 8.3 x 10^-3 m^2 then the equation F = PA would yield:

F = (1.3 x 10^5 Pa) * (8.3 x 10^-3 m^2) = 1079 N.

As you can see alot of the information would just be plugging in the informations thats given to you. You can also see that it takes alot of work to swim, its also been said that swimming is the best workout you could do for your body.

I hope i have opened your eyes to a new way of thinking about swiming, especially with sumer coming up, thank you for reading my blog :)

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