The Art of Approximation
What's the fuel consumption of a car? Say, on the highway moving at highway speeds? We can look it up, but can we understand those numbers? Can we predict them from our knowledge of science and engineering? That's what we're gonna do in this video. This video is part of the problem solving video series. Problem-solving skills, in combination with an understanding of the natural and human-made world, are critical to the design and optimization of systems and processes. Hi, my name is Sanjoy Mahajan, and I'm a professor of Applied Science and Engineering at Olin College. And I excel at streetfighting mathematics. Before watching this video, you should be familiar with free body diagrams and dimensional analysis. After watching this video, you will be able to: Model drag to predict terminal velocities; and Determine the fuel efficiency of a car. Fuel is consumed in fighting drag, on the highway at least. What's the force of drag on a car? That's fluid...