A slight curve helps rocks make the biggest splash

When you want to find a rock that will make the biggest possible splash, you might do well looking for one that is ever so slightly curved. This will produce the largest impact force when it hits water, according to a finding that overturns a long-held belief in physics.

The discovery was made by Jesse Belden at the Naval Undersea Warfare Center in Rhode Island and his colleagues, who set out to examine the idea that a flat object produces the greatest impact on water.