Science in Drag

"...What a Drag it is to See You." That which is most perfected in aerodynamics, the maximum from which all aerodynamic designs take their being, is the Drag Equation, that than which nothing greater can be thought insofar as aerodynamics is concerned.  This equation, under certain realistic assumptions, equates the drag force, FD, with



ρ, the mass density of the fluid through which the object moves

A, the reference area

CD, the drag coefficient
v, the velocity of the object relative to the fluid

There is a certain beauty to this equation, TOF says redundantly.  Consider the equation for light intensity:

c, the speed of light in vacuum
n, the refractive index
ε_o, the vacuum permittivity
E, the complex amplitude of the electric field

A little thought reveals that the form of both equations is identical: one-half a constant times the square of a variable.  If we regard the three constants as one constant -- ρCDA = α, let's say -- the form reduces to ½αv², which is very like the formulae for...
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