Flettner rotor ship
Buque de rotores Flettner
- Date
- 1924 · confidence high
- Place
- Kiel, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany
- Credited to
- Anton Flettner
- Field
- Matter & energy
What it is
A vessel with spinning vertical cylinders that exploit the Magnus effect to harness wind for propulsion. The Buckau (1924), with two rotors, crossed the Atlantic in 1926 and is the forerunner of modern fuel-saving rotors.
The Magnus effect was known from 1852; the Flettner rotor fell out of use as fuel became cheap until its comeback in the 2010s.
What it led to
- wind-assist rotors on today's ships
- applications of the Magnus effect
- development of rigid sails