You are not logged in.
NewMars members often pose questions about how the Universe works, in the course of discussion.
In June of 2026, one of our members briefly considered whether the viscosity of water near the hull of a ship might have an influence on the energy expenditures to move the ship forward.
This question is likely to remain of academic interest, but now that we have powerful AI assistants, someone might have time and the curiosity to find out. Post #3 will contain a copy of a link to the original post, along with suggestions for what might be involved in obtaining an answer.
This topic is available for any member to set out interesting questions that might come up.
(th)
Offline
Like button can go here
This post is reserved for an index to posts that may be contributed by NewMars members.
Index:
Post #3: This post is about an idea for heating the hulls of ships to decrease viscosity to improve energy efficiency for progress through water
(th)
Offline
Like button can go here
In the post at the link shown below, Void posed a question that will likely remain of academic interest for the near future, but the exercise of finding the actual forces in play and the actual numbers would surely be a good exercise for someone seeking to understand more about how the Universe works.
For Void re heating ship bottoms to reduce viscosity
https://newmars.com/forums/viewtopic.ph … 89#p239789
This is an interesting idea. I hope you will do more with it.
Your AI friend might be able to run some numbers to see if it would make a useful difference.
Ships by the many thousands are likely to be in normal service around the world. They all must generate heat to produce power, and if the energy consumed is likely to reach 30% or so efficiency of motion, then that 70% difference likely goes into the atmosphere right now.
The plumbing required to route hot water around the hull will add greatly to the cost of the ship.
A builder would need to balance costs of installation and maintenance of a system to deliver waste heat to the ocean instead of to the atmosphere against any benefits.
(th)
Energy is required to move a ship through the water. The desire of humans to move goods and people over bodies of water has led to invention of a remarkable number of solutions over the centuries. It seems doubtful (to me at least) that very many folks considered the viscosity of water in designing mechanisms for ship movement.
In order for a ship to move through a body of water, it must overcome it's own inertia, and once that is achieved, the nature of the medium through which it is progressing determines most (if not all) of the resistance to be overcome to maintain forward progress.
The medium consists of liquid (usually water) below and enclosing part of the hull, and the rest is gas (usually air).
Air can have a significant influence. For many centuries the mass of air was the sole source of propulsion.
The question posed by Void was whether the viscosity of water (as determined by temperature) would make a measurable difference in the amount of energy needed to sustain forward motion of a ship.
Factors that are in play include mass displacement. In order for a ship to progress, it must force significant quantities of water to move aside. Modern ocean sailing craft use hydrofoils to minimize the cross section of the ship exposed to the ocean.
This topic is available if someone has the time and the curiosity to see what forces are in play, what numbers can be estimated for various scenarios, and ultimately, how much effect changing the temperature of the water adjacent to the hull might have on total energy expenditures.
It might even be possible to use existing shipping as a way to collect data. Ocean temperatures vary from near zero in the arctic and antarctic to as high as 80 degrees Fahrenheit in some tropical oceans. That spread of 50 degrees Fahrenheit might be sufficient to allow for meaningful computations. If all other factors are equal, then Void's theory would suggest that less energy is required to drive a ship in warm oceans than in cold ones. It seems unlikely (again, to me at least) that anyone would have collected data that could be used for a study of this particular hypothesis.
Update: The more I think about Void's idea, the more intrigued I am by the forces at work in the (to us quite ordinary) movement of a ship through a body of water. We take all those forces for granted, because we grew up with them. All those freely moving molecules are bumping into the arms-locked phalanx of metal atoms bound together to resist intrusion. The combined pressure of all those liquid molecules combine to keep the arms-locked forces afloat. The arms-locked team has to push it's way through the randomly jostling crowd, All these forces have numbers, but most of us humans are blissfully unaware of them.
(th)
Offline
Like button can go here