E94 -- De motu cymbarum remis propulsarum in fluviis
(On the movement of a boat with oars propelled through running waters)
Summary:
(based on C. Truesdell's An idiot's fugitive essays on science: methods, criticisms, training,
circumstances)
Euler considers the following problem: A boat with a perfect rudder moves at constant speed
across a stream flowing in straight fillets at assigned speeds. Assuming that the downstream
velocity of the boat equals that of the river, how should the rudder be set so that the boat
traverses a given path? He works out various instances, one of which gives rise to a variational problem,
in detail.
According to the records, it was presented to the St. Petersburg Academy on March 3, 1738.
Publication:
-
Originally published in Commentarii academiae scientiarum Petropolitanae 10, 1747, pp. 22-39
-
Opera Omnia: Series 2, Volume 20, pp. 83 - 100
Documents Available:
Return to the Euler Archive