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Old 08-22-2015, 02:16 PM   #4 (permalink)
aerohead
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Cycle View Post
How do we reconcile the following two viewpoints?

Air viscosity increases with increasing temperature:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viscos...osity_of_a_gas

Drag is linearly dependent on density so if you heat the air by 1%, density decreases by 1% and drag also drops by 1%.
https://www.physicsforums.com/thread...e-drag.804563/

So which is it? Does hotter air increase air viscosity (and thus drag), or does hotter air decrease air density (and thus drag)?
You might want to avoid wikipedia and search out a density altitude calculator online to put you in touch with reality.
We're not interested in 'viscosity',although 'density' is an issue if you want to drive yourself mad.
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Last edited by aerohead; 08-22-2015 at 02:19 PM.. Reason: add data
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