Recently I went to one of my brother's kayaking races and was struck by the physics concepts that I witnessed!!
A kayaker
I noticed that kayakers spread their hands out when gripping the paddle. At first I wondered why they didn't just keep both hands together in the middle, as that would accomplish the same motion. However, I quickly figured out that this was a matter of TORQUE!! By spreading the grip apart, the kayaker increases the lever arm (r), which in turn increases the torque he can apply (T) given the equation T=Fr where F is the force. I am beginning to understand just how much physics applies to sports - understanding the physics behind certain actions can give more of an edge than raw strength. PHYSICS RULEZ!!!
