drag coefficient
2
8.1
- noun
- /dræɡ ˈkoʊəfɪʃənt/
- Specialized
:
coeficiente de arrastre
- The results of a study of a conventional wheelchair showed that the aerodynamic drag coefficient, C D, of a wheelchair is approximately 0.96.
- frontal area and drag coefficient
- frontal area and drag coefficient
That's because the drag coefficient increases by the square of velocity.
- That's because the drag coefficient increases by the square of velocity.
Examples
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If the team could match the drag coefficient of the EV1 (0.19), then the New Generation car could probably reach its 80 mpg goal, especially considering the many other technological seedlings outside of aerodynamics that were expected to take root.
Academic text (1999) -
That's because the drag coefficient increases by the square of velocity.
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That car, with a frontal area of 0.188 square meters, achieved a CDA (the product of drag coefficient and frontal area) of 0.366.
Academic text (1999) -
The record-low drag coefficient partly fulfills a GM program for meeting the New Generation of Vehicles goal of a car that costs the same to own and drive as today's average family sedan but gets three times the gas mileage.
Academic text (1999) -
The car's new skin boasts a slippery drag coefficient of 0.25, equal to that of a new Prius.
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Streamlining the front of the car helps to lower the drag coefficient, improving fuel efficiency.
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A lower drag coefficient indicates that an object moves more easily through air or water.
Synonyms
A number that shows how much air or water slows an object moving through it
Surface Forms
Morphology
This noun–noun compound is compositionally transparent: 'drag' names the resisting force and 'coefficient' signals a numerical measure, so a learner who knows both words can infer it is a number that measures drag. While full technical details (dimensionless ratio, formula) require specialist knowledge, the basic idea 'a number that describes how much drag an object has' is directly derivable and cross‑linguistically paralleled (e.g. Spanish 'coeficiente de arrastre').
Etymology
The term drag coefficient comes from two parts: drag, the push of air or water that tries to slow something, and coefficient, a simple number that measures how strong that push is. So it is like a score that tells 'how easily something moves through air or water', with a low number meaning less push and easier movement.