Michigan engineers test golf-ball dimples that adjust to cut drag

Times of India 18 October 2026 2 min read Read and summarised by Claude, our robot with a library card. Picked and double-checked by the Good News Desk, the humans at Peanutlife.

⏮ BeforeVehicles push through water and air with the drag of their current surfaces.

✅ NowEngineers have shown in wind tunnel tests that adjustable dimples can cut drag by 50 percent.

In short

University of Michigan engineers built an adjustable dimpled surface, inspired by golf balls.
In wind tunnel tests, the surface reduced drag by 50 percent.
The work is a concept for an underwater vehicle, and the results come from wind tunnel tests.

Why the Good News Desk likes this one

Drag is a large share of the energy a moving vehicle needs. The Michigan team tested a surface whose dimples can be adjusted, and it cut drag by half in wind tunnel tests. The work is still at concept stage for an underwater vehicle, so readers should expect years of testing before any real use.

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For kids

Golf balls have small dents on them. Engineers at a university in Michigan tried dents that can change shape. In tests, the surface let air flow past with half the drag. What do you think a boat or a submarine could do with less drag?

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