Have you ever noticed that ducklings most of the time swimming in a row behind their mother, but why? Why are they so disciplined?
“Magic’s just science that we don’t understand yet.”
Arthur C. Clarke said,
The secret is a science behind this formation. Actually, the ducklings take a ride on their mom’s waves, which saves the ducklings energy. Researchers reported the new find in the December 10 issue of the Journal of Fluid Mechanics.
When the baby ducks swim on their own, they have to kick and in this, it uses up some energy that would otherwise send it surging ahead. Called wave drag, this resists the duckling’s motion. But wave drag is reversed for ducklings in the sweet spot. They feel a push instead of drag.
Research has shown ducklings saved energy when swimming behind mom. But how they saved energy wasn’t known.
Read more about the research work at Science for Students. The best thing about reading an article on this site is they provide explanations about a lot of words used in the article.
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