What Are Magnus Effect And Foldable Flettner Rotor?

By Author: ISSAC Gates
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Magnus Effect refers to as a phenomenon in which a spinning object flying in a fluid creates a whirlpool of fluid around itself, and experiences a perpendicular force to the line of motion. When a spinning object passes through a fluid it moves away from its straight path because of the pressure differences which is created in the fluid because of changes in velocity induced by the spinning body. Magnus Effect is said to be responsible for the curved motion of a spinning ball in various ball sports. It also affects the spinning missiles and is used in rotor ships and Flettner airplanes.

Magnus Effect can be observed in games like association football, tennis, golf, table tennis, volleyball, cricket, baseball and paintball marker balls. It is also found in advanced external ballistics. Magnus effect generates a sidewise force on a spinning cylindrical or spherical solid that is immersed in a fluid, whether liquid or gas, when there is a relative motion between the spinning body and the fluid. It is named after the German physicist and chemist H.G. Magnus, who was the first to invent the effect in 1853 experimentally; ...
... he explained that the effect is responsible for the “curve” of a served tennis ball or a driven golf ball and affects the trajectory of a spinning artillery shell.

It is a well known fact that world is facing the problem of energy crises today. There has been a considerable reduction in the non-renewable resources due to its constant consumption and in near future we will have to face severe crisis of non-renewable energy. Therefore, efforts are being made to make use of renewable resources to produce energy by the scientists and researchers. There are three renewable sources, water, wind and sun, from where large amount of energy can be produced at a lower cost. There is a machine which uses wind energy to carry out its functions. This machine is called Foldable Flettner Rotor.

Foldable Flettner Rotor has been invented by Anton Flettner and is used in a Flettner rotor vessel. The great engineer presumed long ago that will be shortage of energy in future; therefore with this thought in mind he invented this concept of using renewable resources to generate energy. With the development of science and technology, the concept has improved to such an extent that the equipments are more technologically advanced. This is based on the concept of energy conservation. Initially, the required amount of thrust was not provided by the wind energy when foldable flettner rotor was fixed to an airplane. But now there has been a great improvement due to several developments and the Flettner rotor vessel works on the same concept as the thrust is more. As a result it works remarkably well and provides good speed. In a ship propulsion is created by this rotor on the basis of Magnus effect. The rotor channels the current of the wind so that maximum energy can be used and conserved to move the ship forward. The most important advantage of this rotor is that it can fold and collapse at the right time and energy is saved.

Magnus effect is the basis of Foldable Flettner Rotor which can be used in diverse fields due to its energy conservation advantages.