Cavitation at the Lake

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Today I was with my family at the lake. Some of my cousins wanted to go on a boat ride in the ski boat. As I watched the boat leave and go out onto the lake I was mindful that if the propeller turned at a specific velocity (a very high velocity) that a fluid phenomena called cavitation could occur. Cavitation occurs when the pressure on the back of a propeller drops below the vapor pressure of water at its temperature. This allows the water to boil in the low pressure region. This phenomena can cause major damage to metallic equipment.