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why not put golf ball dimples on planes

by Shane Blick Published 2 years ago Updated 1 year ago
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Putting dimples on surface will increase the friction drag but will reduce the pressure drag by having the turbulent boundary layer attached farther before separation. Thus the loss by the frication increase is minimal compared to the gain by the pressure drag decrease.Apr 21, 2014

Full Answer

Why don't surface of airplanes have dimples on them?

So my question why don't surface of airplanes have dimples on them, as it would reduce the drag on the airplane and thus fuel consumtion, or does the effect which reduces the drag in the case of golf ball fails at higher speed and bigger size or is it something else Show activity on this post. This is a very good question!

Why do golf balls have dimples on them?

For example, golf balls have dimples on them to create air pockets, which enables them to overcome wind resistance (drag) and boost their aerodynamic properties. This aerodynamic property — the presence of air pockets — is also shared by birds to enable them to solve the aerodynamic problem posed by drag.

Do dimples on the surface of a smooth sphere reduce drag?

About 90% of the drag of a smooth sphere shape is pressure drag and the rest is friction drag. Putting dimples on surface will increase the friction drag but will reduce the pressure drag by having the turbulent boundary layer attached farther before separation.

Why do dimples increase friction drag?

Putting dimples on surface will increase the friction drag but will reduce the pressure drag by having the turbulent boundary layer attached farther before separation. Thus the loss by the frication increase is minimal compared to the gain by the pressure drag decrease.

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Do dimples on a golf ball make it fly farther?

0:544:54Science of Golf: Why Golf Balls Have Dimples - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipIt you can make golf balls go a lot farther.MoreIt you can make golf balls go a lot farther.

Do dimples on a golf ball decrease surface drag?

Golf ball dimples reduce drag by creating a turbulent boundary layer flow around the ball. The boundary layer is defined as a thin layer of fluid dragged by the ball. By creating this turbulent boundary layer, the separation point decreases.

Do golf balls need dimples?

Golf manufacturers don't put dimples on golf balls because it looks good. There is real science behind their use. A flat or irregular object moves through the air in an inconsistent, fluctuating manner because of how air flows over it. So golf balls without dimples would travel unpredictably through the air.

Why are airplane wings smooth?

A certain amount of air turbulence occurs on the surface of most aircraft wings, regardless of their shape and size. As air moves across a wing, it's altered by the friction between it and the wing's surface, changing from a laminar, or smooth, flow at the forward area to more turbulent flow toward the trailing edge.

Do dimples increase aerodynamics?

First, dimples allow air to flow more smoothly around a ball's surface, which decreases the wake and low-pressure area behind the ball, resulting in less drag. Second, the dimples increase lift by causing the air to move faster at the top of the ball, creating lower pressure there.

Why is a golf hole 4.25 inches?

Four-and-a-quarter inches in diameter. R&A ADOPTS 4.25-INCH HOLE SIZE That first hole-cutting implement utilized a cutting tool that was, you guessed it, 4.25 inches in diameter. The folks running the R&A apparently liked that size and so adopted it in their rules for 1891.

Why do they yell fore in golf?

It Is Derived from the Word 'Forecaddie' Forecaddies were in charge of watching the golf balls and indicating where the golf balls landed. To let the forecaddie know when the ball was being struck, the golfers would yell out forecaddie. Eventually, the caddie part was dropped, leaving just the fore.

What makes a golf ball Illegal?

Legal golf balls can't be smaller than 1.68 inches in diameter. The Polara balls have a diameter of 1.68 inches (the same size as normal). If you have a smaller ball, you'll have less drag and that should give you more distance.

How many dimples does a Titleist Pro V1 have?

388 dimpleNew Spherically-tiled Tetrahedral Dimple Designs– featuring a 388 dimple layout for Pro V1, and 348 for Pro V1x – are optimized to each model to maximize distance and flight consistency. Pro V1 maintains its penetrating trajectory while Pro V1x will fly higher than the prior generation.

What are the 4 principles of flight?

The four forces are lift, thrust, drag, and weight. As a Frisbee flies through the air, lift holds it up.

Should planes be dimpled?

Dimpling aircraft surfaces will not reduce drag because the airflow does not separate (under normal conditions) from the surface like it does on the back of a flying golf ball. The dimples minimize the airflow separation.

How do airplanes stay in the air without falling?

A plane's engines are designed to move it forward at high speed. That makes air flow rapidly over the wings, which throw the air down toward the ground, generating an upward force called lift that overcomes the plane's weight and holds it in the sky.

Is it better to have more or less dimples on a golf ball?

The number of golf ball dimples is less important than the shape and depth of the dimples. The number of dimples can affect drag, so it is important to not have too many dimples. Between 330 and 400 dimples is the optimum number. More dimples mean more focussed control over the ball trajectory.

Does marking golf ball affect flight?

Unevenly applied paint can negatively affect your golf ball's aerodynamics, resulting in a different shot shape and/or trajectory than what you had expected. Our testing shows that, even when hit by our laboratory robot, a golf ball with poor paint application can fly inconsistently from one shot to the next.

Why do golf balls have dimples and on average how many dimples are there?

By adding dimples to the ball, golf ball manufacturers minimize drag forces that pull back on the ball or slow it down. Dimples also help lift the ball by forcing airflow downward, which pushes the ball upward. These are the same principles of aerodynamics that airplanes use to fly.

How many dimples does a Pro V1 have?

388 dimplesThe new Pro V1 has 388 dimples, and the new Pro V1x has 348 (both in a tetrahedral pattern), marking the first time the dimple counts have changed since 2011. Dimple patterns, however, are far more than simply the number of them.

Who said "shame, I’d like to see a dimpled F1 car, personally"?

Adam - Shame, I’d like to see a dimpled F1 car, personally.

What is the region of air flow that slows down when we zoom in?

Now if we zoom in close to the object’s surface, we see that friction slows the air; this region of slower flow is called a Boundary Layer.

Is a golf ball smooth or turbulent?

A golf ball, which is small but fast, is delicately balanced between these two behaviours. A smooth golf ball tends to have that smooth kind of boundary layer which gives high drag. However, dimples disturb the flow enough to make the boundary layer turbulent, reducing the drag and allowing you to hit the ball further. For a car or train, which are quite fast and very large compared to a golf ball, the boundary layer is turbulent anyway so dimples have no effect.

Why are dimples useful?

The reason why is that a sphere is a bluff body with some very weird properties when it moves at relatively high speeds.

What happens when you have a wide backside?

If you have something with a very wide and abrupt backside the air can't easily flow back into place behind it and you end up with a very chaotic, mixed up region behind the body as the air flow "detaches" from the body and hurries in to fill the space behind it. This creates a swirling low pressure area behind the body.

Golf balls have dimples.....why not airplanes?

Just watched an episode of Myth Busters where they proved that dimples on a car caused less drag and hence better fuel economy. It appears that the dimples caused the seperation point of the air to move back on the car. Looks like this would be good on airplanes.

gyrocopters and dimple tape

OK I gotta quit this "golf ball" thing . I wasn't paying attention until after an hour or so of searching and googling I found myself in an old gyrocopter forum full of what must have been dead guys discussing dimple tape. I gotta quit and go get another beer.

Why don't airplanes have dimples?

So my question why don't surface of airplanes have dimples on them, as it would reduce the drag on the airplane and thus fuel consumtion, or does the effect which reduces the drag in the case of golf ball fails at higher speed and bigger size or is it something else. fluid-dynamics aerodynamics drag.

Why are aerodynamics slender?

This is done specifically to reduce the adverse pressure gradient ( d p / d x) over the surface of the object and reduce the possibility of flow separation .

How are turbulent and laminar layers different?

V is the velocity tangent to the surface and η is the distance away from the surface. As you can see, for turbulent boundary layers, the fluid close to the wall is moving faster than for the laminar profile.

What is the difference between D f and D p?

where D is the total drag due to viscous effects, D f is the drag due to skin friction, and D p is the drag due to separation (pressure drag).

Do mythbusters put dimples on cars?

Mythbusters put dimples on a car and measured the mpg before and after and found a significant increase in fuel efficiency with the dimples. Aesthetically only a few over the top golfers would buy such a car.

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