A friend and I have been having an ongoing debate for years. We were at a pub on a wharf, watching shipping container ships and cruise ships come into dock, and he posed the question. With no wind, no waves, perfect conditions, could he move the ship at all?
In: Planetary Science
Not likely.
Water still has friction resistance that needs to be overcome. Think of it this way, if you replaced the water with honey, would you expect to move it? The water moves very easily compared to honey, but still has friction. You have to push the water out of the way in the front, overcome the drag on the sides/bottom, and over come the suction to the rear as the ship moves forward and leaves a gap (very, very, tiny) the water has to move in to fill.
If you put the ship into space with no resistive medium you would be able to start it moving very, very, very slowly.
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