Renowned cosmologist and mathematician John D. Barrow has turned his attention to rowing, with intriguing results. As others did before him, Barrow noticed that the force generated by a rower in a boat has two components: one drives the boat forward and one to the side. Since the sideways motion represents wasted effort, rowers should be positioned in the boat so that it is minimised. So what exactly is the ideal positioning of rowers, the ideal rig?

It's a mathematical problem and Barrow has come up with solutions to an idealised version, including a rig that never seems to have been used before in competitive rowing. Last week the New Scientist put Barrow's ideas to the test in a little paddle down the Thames ... you can read about the results on the New Scientist website.

If you'd like to read more of John D. Barrow's work, have a look at his Plus column Outer space.