- #1
rolifantje
- 8
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Hi.
I am a big horse racing fan, and while I am OK with maths, I don't have the knowledge in physics to explain the following well-known horse racing phenomena.
When a horse race is run on grass that is wet/sticky, then
a) It will take more time to cover the distance of the race than when the grass is dry (=firm ground). This is of course nothing new. Running through the mud is harder than running on a paved road. But how do you express this in terms of physics/mathematics?
b) Horses that are able to 'quicken' at the end of a race on firm ground, usually fail to do so when there is some moist in the ground. If a horse needs to make up, say, 5 lengths in the final 200 meters of the race, why is this more difficult to do on a sticky surface? If horse A has 10% excess energy wrt horse B, does this convert into a difference (speed A - speed B) that depends on the actual speed they are running at (=lower when it's wet)? Maybe friction has something to do with it? A sticky surface will suck the hoofs into the ground.
Any feedback will be greatly appreciated. I have been trying to explain this for a few years, but I just don't know enough about physics to come up with an answer myself.
I am a big horse racing fan, and while I am OK with maths, I don't have the knowledge in physics to explain the following well-known horse racing phenomena.
When a horse race is run on grass that is wet/sticky, then
a) It will take more time to cover the distance of the race than when the grass is dry (=firm ground). This is of course nothing new. Running through the mud is harder than running on a paved road. But how do you express this in terms of physics/mathematics?
b) Horses that are able to 'quicken' at the end of a race on firm ground, usually fail to do so when there is some moist in the ground. If a horse needs to make up, say, 5 lengths in the final 200 meters of the race, why is this more difficult to do on a sticky surface? If horse A has 10% excess energy wrt horse B, does this convert into a difference (speed A - speed B) that depends on the actual speed they are running at (=lower when it's wet)? Maybe friction has something to do with it? A sticky surface will suck the hoofs into the ground.
Any feedback will be greatly appreciated. I have been trying to explain this for a few years, but I just don't know enough about physics to come up with an answer myself.