Is it Better to Run or Walk in the Rain?

Have you ever had one of those days when the weather forecast says," Don't worry guys, there is no chance of it raining today.", and then you go about your day and it begins to rain? Unfortunately, you do not have an umbrella or anything to keep you dry, and to make matters worse you are not at your house yet. So, is it better to walk in the rain or run? If you walk, you will only get hit with rain from on top, but it will take you longer to get to your destination. On the other hand, if you run, it will take you less time to get to your destination, but you will get hit with water from the side. So, which one is better? If we assume that you are not completely soaked already and you aren't jumping into puddles, then the answer is relatively simple.

If you are walking, for every drop you avoid with a step, you step into another rain drop. So, when you are walking, you will receive the same amount of rain on your head as if you were standing still. However, if you want to get to your house, you need to be moving so you will most likely not stand still. If you run, you will be hit by rain from the top but you will also be hit from rain by the side. This practically means that your total wetness is equal to the how much rain falls on your head per second times the time spent in the rain plus the how much rain hits you on the side per meter times how many meters you travel.

So, if you want to stay as dry as possible you have to minimize the amount of water falling on your head. In other words, try to get out of the rain as fast as possible.

sources and photo creds: MinutePhysics 

http://www.youtube.com/user/minutephysics