LZR Essay

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Newton's Law Essay

Reducing hydro-resistance-

! The Swim Fin 


Jonathan Leung 10.3

10 April, 2014

Word Count:≈1334

Water is one thousand more dense and resistant than air. Traveling through water naturally

has a thousand times more force holding your body back than the air friction when roaming

on land. Human beings were born and designed to travel on land, not above surface, on air;

nor below surface, underwater. More than 90% of a person's energy is lost when traveling in

water through drag. Consequently, equipments are greatly needed to maximize their

streamline and minimize their surface area, as a larger surface area will create a greater

water-resistance and drag.

! Swimming is related to Newton's Third Law of Motion. There is always an equal and

opposite reaction. When we swim, we basically do two things, we first push the water

backwards making us go forward, then we push the water down to keep ourselves floating on

the surface. When combining it with Newton's third law, the water exerts an equal force on

you. Theoretically, you move how much you give, but with water resistance added to the

equation, it is dragging the swimmer backwards, thus dragging us behind. The ability of

swimmers to hyperextend their knees and ankles provides swimmers with more undulation

and a great propulsion through the water. (Matkovich, 2004) This is where the swim fin comes in

place. Swim fins are made out of flexible rubber, lightweight and small in size. It provides a

larger surface area for the flapping movement of the swimmer, so when the swimmer kicks,

more water would be pushed backwards, resulting in a faster forward movement. According

to a study done by Zamparo in 2002, he concluded with swimmers wearing swim fins would

need to exert...