Discussion»Questions»Animals (Wild)» Which is more efficient propeling through water, the side to side motion of a fish tail or a dolphin's tail going up and down?
No idea - again! But it IS a very interesting, thought-provoking question... I'd think dolphins.. they travel, even for their size, faster than most fish?
It made me smile too.. I remember when my daughter had swimming lessons and she was taught dolphin swimming - she was good at it but it looked SO funny
I would think the dolphin as it mimic's the action of the biggest creature on the planet and the Blue Whale would I think need the most efficient tail possible to move its great weight .....I think you get more motion from an up and down motion rather than a side by side one.....plus up and down puts pressure on what is below it like birds rather than just side pressure that can disperse water easier...... .... just my crazy opinion...... :)p
Just a quick question ... Moving water up and down or side side ... All things being equal as regards the size of the fins or tails .. why would it matter?.. you are still moving the same amount of water!
Not so I think.......birds fly because they put pressure on to the ground as they beat their wings.......
if you have a box lorry weighing two tons with three ton payload of birds sitting on perches so the GVW is five tons....and it then hits a bump and all the birds take flight......how much does the lorry weigh with the birds in flight.... .?
Ok... Going to get technical here .. sorry, can't help myself :) Birds don't fly because they're wings apply pressure on the ground ... Birds like aircraft fly because the air traveling over the the wing moves faster than than under the wing due to the curvature of the wing ... The faster moving air on top creates a low pressure area which sucked the upward ... If they tried on applying pressure on the ground then they wouldn't be able to fly very high. Having said that, there is ground effect ... Which is as you say, but only occurs within several feet of the ground. Fish swim by pushing against the water, displacing it and themselves in the process... Just the same as if you push against a heavy object you will move backwards away from it ... Same effect. Whew! :)
In this case, efficiency is not really a question of power in divided by power out.
With living creatures, it's not just simple mechanics, it's biomechanics. The design of the body is efficient based on its ability to maximize survival.
Go here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aquatic_locomotion
Benedict Arnold 