Flettner Rotor Vessel Is Harnessing Wind Energy Using Magnus Effect
Today, the world is facing serious energy crisis and this is constantly increasing day by day. Wind energy is an alternative source which can be used in place of non-renewable resources so that they do not get scarce. This wind energy was greatly used by Anton Flettner. He was a German engineer who invented a ship which sailed with the help of wind energy. The rotor built by him was named as Flettner Rotor Vessel.
Non-renewable energy resources like coal, petroleum or other fossil fuels are diminishing day by day. This has led to significant growth of use of renewable sources and is widely used in Flettner Rotor Vessel as well as for other purposes. The Flettner Rotor Vessel was designed to use the principle of propulsion. Anton Flettner was the first person to design and invent such a technologically advanced ship. An important advantage of Flettner Rotor Vessel is that it can automatically fold or collapse while sailing through restricted areas or while loading or unloading operations. Flettner Rotor Vessel is designed to work on the principle of with the use of Magnus Effect and has become a craze among the shipping companies because it helps to reduce the cost of business.
The main advantage of Flettner Rotor Vessel is the efficiency and its aerodynamic design which helps in functioning of the ship. The rotor moves in the direction of the wind. Flettner Rotor Vessel was a brilliant invention and proved to be helpful even in bad weather conditions. However, within a period of few years a sudden flaw was detected in the in-built system of the rotors which reduced its efficiency in comparison to traditional engines. Then, Flettner designed a new and more advanced Flettner Rotor Vessel. This proved to be great invention in the world of science and is helping in reducing the problem of energy crisis.
Flettner used Magnus Effect in his Flettner Rotor Vessel. Magnus Effect is defined as a phenomenon in which a spinning object that is moving in a fluid creates a whirlpool around itself and experiences a perpendicular force to the line of motion. Magnus Effect was invented by a German physicist and chemist H.G. Magnus in the year 1853 and named it after his name.
In Magnus Effect when a spinning object passes through the fluid it deviates from its straight path because of the differences in pressure which is formed in the fluid due to the velocity changes induced by the spinning body. Magnus Effect can also be defined as a thrust or force that operates on the spinning object which spins in the direction of the wind. You can find Magnus Effect in varied sports like golf, football, baseball, volleyball, tennis, cricket, table tennis, etc. A thrust is generated on the spinning spherical or cylindrical device from the sides when it passes through the fluid and a relative motion is created between the fluid and the spinning object due to Magnus Effect.
Thus, Flettner Rotor Vessel by using this Magnus Effect is helping in solving the problem of energy crisis to a considerable extent.
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