Is There A Physicist In The House ... ?

[sunny-dave]

Discussion in the pub (after a sharp shower caused us to take shelter) turned to the old chestnut :

"Is it better to run through the rain, or to walk normally?"

Which one gets you wetter (assuming the same intensity of rain, over the same distance travelled)?

Is jim360 around?

Does Chris know?

Can factor factorise an answer?


damp dave

[Baldric]

Man who tote Brolly walk in rain!

[jakep]

Actually saw this on one of those programmes where a bunch of men do experiments, can't remember the name.
Anyway their conclusion was that they got wetter while running than they did while walking. They wore the same clothes and then weighed them.

[factor-fiction]

Intuitively I'd say run, but I recall hearing this before and vaguely remember being surprised by the answer. And I am no physicist

[jim360]

The correct answer apparently is that "no-one really knows". It can depend on wind speed and direction as well as body shape. That said, in general you should probably run.

[wolf63]

I thought that you were looking for a psychiatrist

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MqYE2UuN24

[black_cat51]

it was on QI once and it depends on your size

[Hopkirk]

Run and your clothes will get wet.

Walk and your hair gets soaked.

[bibblebub]

Mythbusters covered it (and was quoted in QI)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HtbJbi6Sswg

[stuey]

Ask Johnnie Ray.

[stuey]

What! Johnnies been put on the spot?

[stuey]

Good to hear that again, Jordyboy9.

[gness]

You might want to be careful, DT...unless you know something of course...☺

[Slapshot]

In a series of high tech highly controlled experiments completed at the Met Office college around 30 years ago..... we, my class decided that running was better as you got out the rain quicker....however depending on the intensity of the rain, droplet size and wind strength, however you hit the rain harder than any fall momentum would strike you when standing still... it really disnae matter yer going to get drookit!!

[Peter Pedant]

revisited every so often

a few years ago - they came up with

stand still - you only get rained on your pate

move - and your front ( technically chest and abdo) will pick up rain from the movement as well as your pate

hence move slowly....

which I kinda think is Slapshots answer all those y ago in the met office

[pixie373]

I saw that programme too, Jakep, I think-- Mythbusters maybe? As a non-physicist, I would say running is better, as humans and animals instinctively do it. Probably to get out of the rain quicker.