Drafting: It's Not a Drag!

Drafting has a lot of physics behind it and is used to its advantage. An object breaks through the air and another one will travel behind it without as much wind resistance. The concept of drafting is very useful in many applications. Drafting is when a second object or car for example, tucks right behind the first. The second one will have less air resistance because of a vacuum behind them. This results in gained speed or both cars that they could not gain alone.

Birds use drafting when forming a “V” formation during flight. They are a great example of a technique used with drafting. One bird will lead a pack and will offer less air resistance to the rest, making flight harder on the leader. The lead bird has to “break through” the air and takes turns leading with the others. Birds are able to gain speed and make flight easier for the following birds. They will be pushed together due to air pressure.

Racecars are another example of drafting. Racecars use drafting while racing to gain speed. When the cars use drafting it results in a gain speed that they could not gain alone. A car racing around a track creates a bubble of air. There is a high density of air in front and a low density of air in the back, which creates drag. When another car pulls behind the first, the slipstreams created by the two merge. This reduces drag on both of them.

Other examples of drafting are with running, biking and skating. Drafting is able to make the athlete more efficient. There are many reasons for the use of drafting.