QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s):
Home     Help     Feedback     Subscriptions     Archive     Search     Table of Contents

This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by KERMACK, K. A. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by KERMACK, K. A.

Journal of Experimental Biology 25,237-240 (1948)
Published by Company of Biologists 1948

The Propulsive Powers of Blue and Fin Whales

K. A. KERMACK ¹

¹ University College, London

1. If the flow of water over the body of a Blue or a Fin whale be free from turbulence, the horse-power required per lb. of locomotory muscle is of the order of a tenth of the value estimated by Gray (1936) for the porpoise and dolphin.

2. If the flow be turbulent in these large whales the horse-power required per lb. of muscle agrees closely with Gray's estimate for the smaller Cetacea, or for the other types of mammalian muscle that have been investigated.