Ship resistance and hydrodynamic concept formation in the nineteenth century
Olivier Darrigol (Université Paris VII, REHSEIS)

FCUL, Campo Grande, Edifício C4, Sala 4.2.07

The development of steam-powered navigation in the early nineteenth century prompted a series of experimental and theoretical studies of the ship resistance problem, with important spin-offs in general fluid mechanics. The leading actors were the British engineer-physicists Scott Russell, William Rankine, and William Froude, often within the British Association for the Advancement of Science. They identified the three basic kinds of resistance (wave, skin, and eddy) and defined the first efficient strategies to cope with them.