The technology race in the America’s Cup

NYTimes.com : The America’s Cup has always been a showcase for innovation: The 1895 victor, Defender , for example, used aluminum, steel, and bronze in the hull, an unheard–of combination at the time. And sailing in general, and high-level racing in particular, are no strangers to technology. But it has not been used at such an extreme scale before.The most obvious advance can be seen rising above USA-17 , which is owned by Lawrence J. Ellison, president of the software company Oracle. It looks as if someone wrenched a wing off a large jetliner and perched it, tip up, atop a trailer hitch on the boat’s middle hull. Related Physics Today articles The physics of sailing February 2008 Sailing and the physics of lift (letters about the previous article) September 2008 Ship hydrodynamics June 1978