Eli5: when traveling on a boat going 40 mph, how can a bee hover with the boat if it wasn’t already in motion?

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I get that when you throw a ball in the air while traveling, it will go up at the same speed you’re moving at, but for a bee to be going on about it’s business like it’s nothing, traveling at 40 mph.. it doesn’t make any sense

In: Mathematics

11 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

A feature of fluid dynamics is that near the solid interface the velocity of the fluid is close to that of the solid (i.e. 0 if the solid is not moving, 40 mph if the solid is moving 40 mph). If the bee is close enough then the “wind” of the blowing air as a result of the moving vehicle won’t be 40 mph.

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