Reply To: Physics of swimming: momentum
Hello
You raise an interesting question. I swim but I am not a swimmer. I really hope that someone with more knowledge in this area will chime in.
Looking at the problem from an overall physics perspective, however, I question how much of role momentum (the tendency of a moving body to keep moving) actually plays. The greatest resistance to a swimmers forward movement is drag of the water — “friction.” This friction will tend to dominate the outcome, momentum notwithstanding.
Therefore, it seems to me, the focus should be on movements/motions that minimize this friction. That, and on movements/motions that maximize pushing forward. Again, I hope that someone with more knowledge will chime in