“The noseride is one of surfing’s peak moments: part fluid dynamics, part magic. But how does noseriding actually work?”
Whimsical subject matter and overall tone but there’s actually a pretty satisfying scientific explanation about the mysterious forces behind hanging ten in this little video by the good folks at Patagonia. Fluid dance, one of the most pure maneuvers in all of sport:
More on the coanda effect from Havard’s department of natural sciences:
Fluids flowing near a surface tend to follow the shape of the surface. Using Schlieren optics, we can see this behavior. It is known as the Coanda Effect and its explanation depends on viscosity, the frictional forces between the molecules of a fluid (be it liquid or gas). The Coanda effect is the culprit behind many everyday incidents as well as more esoteric phenomena, such has levitating a ball in a stream of air.