Article contents
Survival hydrodynamics
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 18 April 2012
Abstract
Fish escaping from predators exhibit amazing acceleration. The hydrodynamic mechanisms employed to power this acceleration are highlighted in the paper by Gazzola, van Rees & Koumoutsakos (J. Fluid Mech., this issue, vol. 698, 2012, pp. 5–17), showing that the fish bends its entire body and caudal fin, in order to entrap and then accelerate as large a mass of water as possible. It is also shown that hydrodynamic optimization drives the fast-start kinematics.
JFM classification
- Type
- Focus on Fluids
- Information
- Copyright
- Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2012