At its widest point, the diameter of a bottlenose dolphin is 0.50 m. Bottlenose dolphins are particularly sleek, having a drag coefficient of only about 0.090.a. What is the drag force acting on such a dolphin swimming at 7.5 m/s?b. Using the dolphin’s diameter as its characteristic length, what is the Reynolds number as it swims at this speed in 20° C water?
Fluid Pressure
The term fluid pressure is coined as, the measurement of the force per unit area of a given surface of a closed container. It is a branch of physics that helps to study the properties of fluid under various conditions of force.
Gauge Pressure
Pressure is the physical force acting per unit area on a body; the applied force is perpendicular to the surface of the object per unit area. The air around us at sea level exerts a pressure (atmospheric pressure) of about 14.7 psi but this doesn’t seem to bother anyone as the bodily fluids are constantly pushing outwards with the same force but if one swims down into the ocean a few feet below the surface one can notice the difference, there is increased pressure on the eardrum, this is due to an increase in hydrostatic pressure.
At its widest point, the diameter of a bottlenose dolphin is 0.50 m. Bottlenose dolphins are particularly sleek, having a drag coefficient of only about 0.090.
a. What is the drag force acting on such a dolphin swimming at 7.5 m/s?
b. Using the dolphin’s diameter as its characteristic length, what is the Reynolds number as it swims at this speed in 20° C water?
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