Ship resistance and propulsion

Alright kiddo, imagine you're playing with a toy boat in the bathtub. When you start to push the boat forward, you might notice that it's hard to move at first. That's because the water in the bathtub is pushing against the boat, trying to keep it from moving.

This force that's pushing against the boat is called resistance. And when you're talking about big boats or ships, resistance can make it really hard for them to move through the water quickly or efficiently.

But ships have something else that helps them move through the water - something called propulsion. Propulsion is what powers the ship forward, kind of like how you use your arms and legs to move yourself around.

Usually, ships have big engines that drive big propellers - kind of like a fan - that push water backwards. When the water moves backwards, it pushes the ship forward. And the faster the propellers spin, the faster the ship can move.

But like I said before, resistance can be a big problem for ships trying to move through the water. So ship designers have to work really hard to come up with ways to reduce resistance and make the ship move more efficiently. They might make the shape of the ship more streamlined, or add special coatings to the hull to make it smoother.

So there you have it - ship resistance and propulsion explained like you're five!