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The Learning Kingdom's Cool Fact of the Day for May 3, 1999
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What kind of motorboat has no propeller?
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Instead of a propeller, the penguin flipper boat uses a pair of
paddles at the back that look and move like the flippers of a penguin.
The twelve-foot boat, invented by James Czarnowski, is called
"Proteus."
The penguin flipper boat uses 17% less power than an equivalent
propeller-driven boat, and produces far less turbulence and noise. It
might be good for use in nature preserves, where propellers might cause
too much disturbance of the ecosystem.
For inspiration Czarnowski watched the penguins swimming underwater
at Boston's New England Aquarium. He mapped out the way they moved
their flippers, and designed a mechanical system to mimic it, moving
the paddles side to side while turning them at the same time.
More about the penguin boat:
http://web.mit.edu/towtank/www/flapfoil/index.html
Cool Facts about penguins:
http://www.cool-fact.com/archive/1997/08/22.html
http://www.cool-fact.com/archive/1997/11/14.html
http://www.cool-fact.com/archive/1999/03/31.html
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