The fascinating physics of boat wakes
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If you look at the wake behind a duck, or a kayak, or a ship, you might notice two things: first, it’s a feathery, rippled pattern, and second, that pattern looks the same regardless of whether it’s made by a duck, kayak, or ship— even though they’re all moving at different speeds and the waves are different sizes. How is this possible? Minutephysics digs into the Kelvin wake pattern.
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Explore the life and discoveries of physicist and engineer William Thomson, Lord Kelvin. In addition to the Kelvin wave, he was best known for calculating the lowest possible temperature in the universe— absolute zero.
Dive deeper into the fascinating world of physics with these videos:The physics of surfing
Football physics: The "impossible" free kick
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The physics of the "hardest" move in ballet
An athlete uses physics to shatter world records
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- Video created by minutephysics
- Lesson Plan created by Lauren McAlpine