Stopping a Ship: Why Ships Cannot Have Brakes?
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August 12, 2015 by
Soumya Chakraborty 7 Comments
A very common question regarding ships has been – if they can brake to stop like any other automobile or aeroplane on ground. The answer, as we all know, is “NO”, and that is not what this article focuses on. The article delves into the reasons behind the answer- Why cannot a ship brake itself to stop? And if it cannot, how do ships stop at all?
To understand the answer behind this question we first need to know how a brake works? The working principle of a brake is that it creates friction between the wheel and a stationary body (generally the brake shoe) to stop the rotatory motion of the wheel, with respect to the surface with which the wheel is in contact.
Here’s a video on how car brakes work:
Extrapolate this concept to a moving ship – there are no wheels in this case, given the fact that a ship propels itself in water by a propeller that is located at its stern. Now when a propeller rotates, it generates a thrust which propels the ship in the forward direction. The most vital thing to note here is that the hull of the ship moves in a fluid medium and hence it is not possible to instantly bring a ship to stop, given the shearing tendency of water medium
Stopping a Ship: Why Ships Cannot Have Brakes?