Locomotion: Dealing with Friction

To move on land, in water, or in the air, even at constant speed and at the same level, always requires an expenditure of energy. The resistance to motion that has to be overcome is of many different kinds depending on size, speed, and the characteristics of the medium, and is a fascinating subject...

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Published inProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS Vol. 95; no. 10; pp. 5448 - 5455
Main Author Radhakrishnan, V.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 12.05.1998
National Acad Sciences
National Academy of Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences
SeriesInaugural Article
Subjects
Animals
Automobiles
Birds
Boats
Brackish
Civilization
Freshwater
Friction
History
Humans
Inaugural Article
Inventions
Kinetics
Locomotion
Locomotion - physiology
Marine
Minimization of cost
Models, Biological
Physical Sciences
Physics
Ship hulls
Speed
Transportation costs
Wheels
Online AccessGet full text
ISSN0027-8424
1091-6490
DOI10.1073/pnas.95.10.5448

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Summary:To move on land, in water, or in the air, even at constant speed and at the same level, always requires an expenditure of energy. The resistance to motion that has to be overcome is of many different kinds depending on size, speed, and the characteristics of the medium, and is a fascinating subject in itself. Even more interesting are nature's stratagems and solutions toward minimizing the effort involved in the locomotion of different types of living creatures, and humans' imitations and inventions in an attempt to do at least as well.
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This contribution is part of the special series of Inaugural Articles by members of the National Academy of Sciences elected on April 30, 1996.
To whom reprint requests should be addressed. e-mail: rad@rri.ernet.in.
Contributed by V. Radhakrishnan
ISSN:0027-8424
1091-6490
DOI:10.1073/pnas.95.10.5448