14.1 Intro to resistive forces | Summary and Q&A

TL;DR

Drag forces in fluids, whether it be in air or liquid, can be quite complex and depend on various factors such as the properties of the object, the density and viscosity of the fluid, and the compressibility of the fluid.

Key Insights

• 🧑‍🏭 Drag forces in fluids can be complicated and depend on factors such as object properties, fluid density, fluid viscosity, and fluid compressibility.
• 👱 Air drag can be approximately modeled using a resistive force proportional to speed squared, object's cross-sectional area, density of air, and drag coefficient.
• 💦 When objects are dropped at slow speeds in fluids, drag forces are influenced by the fluid's viscosity.
• 👮 Stokes' law provides an exact solution for the drag force on a sphere in fluid motion, with coefficients related to viscosity and sphere radius.

Transcript

We would now like to discuss drag forces in a fluid. Now remember that fluids can be both a liquid or air. And drag forces are actually quite complicated depending on a lot of factors. If we had an object falling in a fluid, the drag forces can depend on both the properties of the object-- and in that case, it might be the speed or the size or the ... Read More

Questions & Answers

Q: What factors affect the drag forces in fluids?

Drag forces in fluids depend on the properties of the object (speed, size, shape), density of the fluid, viscosity of the fluid, and compressibility of the fluid.

Q: How can air drag be modeled?

Air drag can be approximately modeled by a resistive force proportional to the speed squared, cross-sectional area of the object, density of air, and drag coefficient.

Q: How does viscosity affect drag forces in fluids at slow speeds?

When objects are dropped in fluids at slow speeds, the drag force is proportional to speed and viscosity of the fluid.

Q: What special case has an exact solution for drag forces in fluids?

The special case of a sphere in fluid motion, known as Stokes' law, has an exact solution that includes a drag force opposite to the direction of velocity, with coefficients related to the viscosity of the fluid and the radius of the sphere.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Drag forces in fluids are influenced by factors such as the properties of the object (speed, size, shape), density of the fluid, viscosity of the fluid, and compressibility of the fluid.

• In the case of air drag, a rough model suggests that the drag force is proportional to the speed squared, cross-sectional area of the object, density of air, and drag coefficient.

• When objects are dropped in fluids at slow speeds, a different effect occurs based on the viscosity of the fluid, with the drag force being proportional to speed and viscosity.