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The US Swim Team's Secret Weapon, Science

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on from the but-not-chemistry dept.

Hugh Pickens writes "When American Swimmer Margaret Hoelzer goes for the gold tonight in the 200-meter backstroke, part of her success will be due to a new system developed by Tim Wei, a mechanical and aerospace engineer at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, that uses fluid dynamics to study human movement allowing scientists and coaches to study how fast and hard a swimmer pushes the water as he moves through it. 'Wei uses a tracking technique called digital particle image velocimetry, commonly used to measure the flow of small particles around an airplane or small fish or crustaceans in water.' Wei filtered compressed air in a scuba tank through a porous hose to create bubbles about a tenth of a millimeter in diameter. When an athlete swims through a sheet of bubbles that rises from the pool floor, a camera captures their flow around the swimmer's body and the images show the direction and speed of the bubbles, which Wei then translates into the swimmer's thrust using software that he wrote."

9 of 180 comments (clear)

  1. Sexism by Ethanol-fueled · · Score: 5, Funny
    From TFS:

    "When American Swimmer Margaret Hoelzer goes for the gold tonight in the 200-meter backstroke..."
    "...to study how fast and hard a swimmer pushes the water as he moves through it."

    I'm Margaret Hoelzer, you insensitive sexist swimsuit-designing clods!

    1. Re:Sexism by DeadDecoy · · Score: 5, Funny

      Can you really fault them, most slashdotters have never seen a woman before.

    2. Re:Sexism by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      I'll ambiguously define your antecedent!

  2. Hmm... I have a correction to the title by rehtonAesoohC · · Score: 5, Funny

    The US Swim Team's Secret Weapon: Michael Phelps.

    Though that's not very secret. Sort of like Victoria's.

    1. Re:Hmm... I have a correction to the title by Xoltri · · Score: 5, Funny

      OK we get it, he's good at swimming. Does there really need to be so many swimming events? Why don't they have 10 different softball events? You could have ones where everyone gets one arm tied behind their backs. Or one where they all have to run backwards. Another where they hop around the field with potato sacs on their legs. Or have a runner at each base and they have to do it relay style. It doesn't make any sense!

      It's event pollution. See: http://www.realmansolympics.com/

      --
      -Xoltri
  3. Swimmer gender issues by spineboy · · Score: 5, Funny

    I dunno - if you've seen some of the female swimmers, then it's not hard to make that mistake.

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    ..........FULL STOP.
  4. Re:Problems with slashdot...is it just me? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    No, it's not just you.

    The original slashdot page layout and comment threading system was junk. It was obviously "designed" at 3:00 in the morning after a mushroom and hash party in Taco's dorm room. They would fix it, but nobody at slashdot understands how it works.

    The recent v2.0 slashdot page layout and comment threading system is also junk. It was obviously "designed" at 3:00 in the afternoon after a martini and coke lunch at an expensive steak house. They would fix it, but nobody at slashdot understands that it sucks.

  5. Faster lap times due to ... by PPH · · Score: 5, Funny

    ...being chased. By sharks. With lasers.

    The high diving competitions are the result of releasing the shark and playing the video of the swimmer leaping out of the pool backwards.

    --
    Have gnu, will travel.
  6. Re:The secret science is wrong by ToastBusters · · Score: 5, Funny

    And his body. He's like a dolphin. His proportions are perfect for swimming. And then he's double jointed in his ankles, elbows, shoulders AND chest. His armspan is 10cm greater than his height. All he needs now are gills.

    Dolphins have gills?