Originally Posted by
18greens
Is there a non formulaic explanation why doubling the speed quadruples the lift, drag, braking distances?
Yes... my earlier response for lift and drag.
Let me expand a bit.
Remember, although we tend to draw wings as stationary with air flowing around them it is equally valid to consider the air as stationary and the wing moving though it. It's just more difficult to draw in a simple graphic!
If you double your TAS you hit twice as much air per unit time.
You also hit it twice as hard.
Twice the amount, twice as hard = 4 times the force.
Does that help for an intuitive rather than formulaic explanation?
For braking energy there isn't really a good non formula method, at least not that I've found. But like most mechanics, it really isn't that complicated as long as your basic science is actually understood. Unfortunately far too few people actually understand basic mechanics but rather know it by rote. And there are far too few Physics graduates teaching science (and far too many biologists).
However if you can get your head around the idea that work = force x distance then you may be able to visualise that when an object is already moving it travels further per unit time. Thus the faster you go, the more energy you need to put in for the same change in velocity.