Generally speaking when you are using a sail, you have two parts that work together to propel you in the direction you wish to go: the keel and the sail The keel is much smaller and less obvious because the density of water is so much higher than that of air, but you are still using the pressure on one to push against the other and get movement in the direction you want.
If you were to try to use this same principle under water, you would need to be at a place where there are two currents moving in different directions On the other hand, you could just go with a parachute style propulsion to be carried along if you are in a water flow that is already going the correct direction. There are some 'submersible gliders' as well, but I believe those mostly just use ballast and changing dive planes to move forward: http://www.impactlab.com/2008/02/12/submersible-glider-powered-by-thermal-changes/ So I guess it really depends on what you mean by 'sail' -Travis On Tue, Jan 13, 2009 at 4:59 AM, Tom Sparks <[email protected]> wrote: > Could underwater sails be practically use for propulsion? > > > > Stay connected to the people that matter most with a smarter inbox. Take > a look http://au.docs.yahoo.com/mail/smarterinbox > _______________________________________________ > GurpsNet-L mailing list <[email protected]> > http://mail.sjgames.com/mailman/listinfo/gurpsnet-l > -- The man that holds fast to his bitterness will eventually be consumed by it, but if you let it go, your arms will be free to seize the glory that is life. -Terwin _______________________________________________ GurpsNet-L mailing list <[email protected]> http://mail.sjgames.com/mailman/listinfo/gurpsnet-l
