Club Obi Wan

Hey not that I am a scientist but I had heard the amount of humidity effects the ease with which a whip will crack. The more moisture in the air the easier it is to crack, E=MC2 etc….. I was skeptical until I verified it myself, by accident.

I have two friends, John and Nate, whom I work with. They came home for lunch in late winter, on a cool dry day. Nether had ever cracked a whip before but both wanted to try. We got out the 6 and 8 and went out into the yard. Nothing worked, even with my instruction they could not get the whips to crack even one time. The guys were frustrated.

Well yesterday they were back for lunch again. Hot, humid, 70% chance of showers, I said let’s try again. Nether wanted to try, still remembering the shame of last time but they went for it. We were all shocked when they could both crack, easily and repeatedly, almost from the start. Here were the same two guys with 5 months in between, no more practice, the same two whips. It had to be the conditions.

While I can crack all the time. I admit that sometimes it is easier than others. However, I thought that it was just me. I think this proves otherwise. Dr. Walton will now wait 5 more months and let John and Nate try again on a cold crisp fall afternoon. They will not have practiced at all and I predict they will not be able to crack again.

I think I am on to something here. I welcome your comments, have you has similar experiences?

Thanks,
Bill Walton

Bill,

What you said seems to make sense. As I remember, the sonic boom created at the end of the whip, by the tip, are the molecules of air colliding with one another as they rush back to the area they were previously displaced from during the cracking (which incidently creates a vacuum, and mother nature abhors a vacuum). Now, put more molecules in the air, in the form of water vapor, and you'd have a greater density of molecules of matter/volume. Assuming this is all true, you'd have more molecules colliding with one another as they rush back in to fill the vacuum created by the end of the tip when it exceeds the sound barrier.

I am a scientist, but that doesn't mean I know what I'm talking about!!!!

I had the worst time trying to crack a whip at the beach in high winds (>30 mph sustained), even when I knew that my cracking should result in a loud boom, I only heard a little pop.

Best Regards,

Paul Stenhouse

Another thing to consider is the stiffness of the whip between winter and summer, and the effect a stiff whip has on someone learning to crack. In the summer, the leather dressing just soaks up into the whip and it feels real soft and flexible. In the winter, it stiffens up a bit and can be a bit more uncooperative. You mignt not notice it if you've been cracking a whiile, and I don't know how much it might affect a novice cracker, but it sounds like a good theory.

I've noticed it the winter I get quick, high pitched cracks, but in the summer I get loud, deep cracks. In the summer the leaves are on the trees so the noise bounces off of them and comes back at you, which might explain some of why cracking in the summer and winter sound different.
-scott

Thanks guys, the only thing I can add is that my whip's were not effected by the cold in the first test as they were kept inside, we only took them out for 15 minutes, to crack.

Bill Walton