I just saw this video of some huge killer whales riding a boat’s wake. Does having a killer whale (or a surfer, or a dolphin) riding your wake cause your boat to use more energy to drive through the water than it would without a killer whale in tow? Or is the killer whale drafting on energy that would otherwise dissipate into the ocean? How about on the bow wave?
In: 6
No. A dolphin IN a wave has pretty much the exact same mass as the water that would’ve been there otherwise. So the ship is pushing the same amount of mass either way.
(Nitpicky answer: Technically when the dolphin swims into or out of the wave, it brings a tiny bit of energy with it that could push or pull harder against the boat, but when “coasting” in the wave, it’s effectively zero difference to water alone.)
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