Flaneur in the rain - iii

Suppose you're sauntering about Saint-Germain, Paris, from one cafe to the next, staying only as long as it takes you to knock down a few Brilliant problems. You're wrapping up at Brasserie Lipp and want to go to Cafè de Flore, which is across the street.

The only problem is: it's pouring rain!

If you want to absorb as little water as possible, how quickly should you run across the road?

Assumptions

  • Approximate yourself as a shape with a vertical cross section of A head A_\text{head} , and horizontal cross section A body A_\text{body} .
  • The rain falls straight down at terminal velocity v rain v_\text{rain}
  • All the rain that hits your body is absorbed.
  • The width of the road is d d .
v 0 = g v rain d v_0 = \frac{gv_\text{rain}}{d} v 0 = v rain v_0 = v_\text{rain} v 0 = A head / A body v rain v_0 = \sqrt{A_\text{head}/A_\text{body}}v_\text{rain} v 0 = v_0 =\infty

This section requires Javascript.
You are seeing this because something didn't load right. We suggest you, (a) try refreshing the page, (b) enabling javascript if it is disabled on your browser and, finally, (c) loading the non-javascript version of this page . We're sorry about the hassle.

3 solutions

Beakal Tiliksew
May 24, 2014

Run to a speed universally and physically impossible.

Ha I agree

Mardokay Mosazghi - 7 years ago
Steven Perkins
May 30, 2014

I decided that no matter how fast you move, you absorb rain on your horizontal cross section based only on the density of the rain drops and the area of your cross section.

Only what falls on your head can be affected by how fast you run. So run as fast as possible. Ideally, at infinite speed.

but doesn''t going faster mean you run into more rain in front of you? I am sure speed affects this. There's a veritasium youtube video on it.

William G. - 4 years ago

Log in to reply

Faster doesn't mean more rain. Just getting to it quicker.

I think it's the same amount hitting the front of you no matter how fast you run.

Steven Perkins - 4 years ago

Log in to reply

@Steven Perkins https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MqYE2UuN24

William G. - 4 years ago

Log in to reply

@William G. oh wait nvrmind

William G. - 4 years ago

transform into the flash...

0 pending reports

×

Problem Loading...

Note Loading...

Set Loading...