You must log in or register to comment.
What I’m reading here, is that turbulence(high Reynolds number) is necessary for thrust. If there is no turbulence, then there is no thrust generated as both halves of the swimming cycle will cancel each other out.
Think about it. When you swim, you create turbulence with your pushes, but try to gently (laminar flow) return your arms and to the place where they can again create thrust. If you never or always produced turbulence, you would not travel very fast.
Yep, that’s the crux of it. There is also a way around it: non reciprocal motion. This is one way scallops control their movement; they vary the timing of closing in relation to opening
