Title: Two dimensional potential flow around a rectangular pole solved by a multiple linear regression,
Abstract: A potential flow around a circular cylinder is a commonly examined problem in
an introductory physics class. We pose a similar problem but with different
boundary conditions where a rectangular pole replaces a circular cylinder. We
demonstrate to solve the problem by deriving a general solution for the flow in
the form of an infinite series and determining the coefficients in the series
using a multiple linear regression. When the size of a pole is specified, our
solution provides a quantitative estimate of the characteristic length scale of
the potential flow. Our analysis implies that the potential flow around a
rectangular pole of the diagonal 1 is equivalent to the potential flow around a
circle of diameter 0.78 to a distant observer.