It is probably not 100% ARCHIMEDES approved, but it floats! Can anyone explain more thoroughly?
www.advancedphysics.org inspired
Why do wider surfboard paddle faster? I tried to come up with a GENERAL explanation.
Suppose you have two surfboards, a quiver! The boards are equally long, the slim one is a bit thicker, the wider one is less thick, both have the same volume.
Imagine yourself on both boards. In both cases you sort of float, you are in balance. you float because there is a buoyant force pushing you and the surfboard up. This force is created by the Volume of water displaced by you and the surfboard. In both cases the buoyant force is equal, the force floats you.
To obtain the buoyant force, the same volume needs to be displaced in each case. In the first case, the slim surfboard, the volume equals Widthlengththickness.
Since the the width of the slim surfboard is smaller than the wider wide, and you are seeking to match the same volulme, you need to put more surfboard length wise in the water. The boards sits low in the water. The wider surfboard needs less length submerged to have the same float, so this boards sits higher in the water.
Since a board that sits lower in the water has to displace more water + the fact that it induces more viscous drag because more rocker is in the water is paddles A LOT slower.
The wider board paddles faster, because due to its higher position in the water, less water needs to be displaced, and less viscous drag is incurred by the rocker underwater.
you can imagine that even if you add thickness to the slim board, you still need to put the same amount of volume under water to have the same float, thus still have the same drag, thus paddle still as slowly.
What about that?