How does moving side to side propel a snake/fish forward? What’s the opposite force? Not sure if this is bio or physics.
In: Biology
different mechanics.
a fish pushes water side to side from a dispurportionaly large surface area of its body – fin
snakes use different muscle groups to push themselves forward…..friction is the opposing fork (see if you can find videos of snakes on silk sheets…..they wiggle but dont move!!! adorable)
It doesn’t. The sideways motion isn’t what’s providing forward propulsion…the force is always at an angle (fish tails are bent, snakes make a curve, etc.). They’re providing a motion at an angle and they have high resistance in the sideways direction and low resistance in the the forward direction, so they mostly go forward.
It’s very similar to how roller blades or ice skates work…you push outwards at an angle and you get propelled forwards.
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