Apparent wind is the wind experienced by a moving object, calculated as the vector sum of true wind and headwind. It is important for navigation and can be used to measure true wind. Some boats can travel faster than true wind.
Apparent wind is the force of wind experienced by an object moving through the air. It is different from true wind, or the wind experienced by a stationary object. The concept of apparent wind is important in navigation, as it helps determine the conditions in which a vessel can travel effectively. In airplane flight, the apparent wind has a similar effect. Planes generally take off and land into the wind to slow the forward speed at which the plane takes off or lands.
Apparent wind is calculated as the vector sum of the true wind and the headwind component that the moving object would experience in still air. All values are vectors, having magnitude, length, and direction. Therefore, the vector can be conceptualized as straight lines with start and end points. The sum of a vector is calculated by placing the end point of one vector at the start point of the other; the sum is a vector from the start point of the first vector to the end point of the other.
The headwind itself is the inverse of the speed of a moving object, which means that the start point and end point of the vector are reversed, with the same magnitude. Therefore apparent wind can also be calculated as the speed of a moving object subtracted from the true wind speed. For nautical purposes, the direction of speed is measured in degrees and the magnitude in knots, or nautical miles per hour. Traveling directly downwind gives an angle of 0 degrees, and directly downwind gives an angle of 180 degrees. A knot is about 1,151 miles per hour (1,852 km per hour).
Apparent wind can also be used to measure the true wind of a moving object, since the true wind can be calculated given the measurement of the wind as experienced by the moving object and the measurement of the speed of the object. Most modern sailboats are equipped with an anemometer, which measures wind speed and pressure, and a weather vane, which measures wind direction. These instruments measure the apparent wind, and the direction of the wind is measured in degrees relative to the direction the vessel is traveling.
An object moving against the wind experiences higher drag and lower efficiency, resulting in lower acceleration. Some boats can travel faster than the true wind, especially if they are of light construction, causing less drag when traveling upwind. Windsurfers, some mutlihulls, ice sailors, and land sailors are some of the craft capable of traveling faster than the true wind.
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN
