Comment on why do reverse thrusters work on an airplane, but a fan on a sailboat doesn't work?
remon@ani.social 4 hours agoWell yeah, because the sail is not needed at all, you just need the fan.
A jet engine is just a very powerful fan anyway, so nothing else is needed.
The sail would just be a very inefficient reverser.
gastroglizzy@piefed.social 4 hours ago
Yeah, so inefficient as to be completely ineffective. In other words, “it doesn’t work”.
remon@ani.social 4 hours ago
No, it’s not completely ineffective, just very ineffective.
If you blow enough air a sufficient sturdy sail you can absolutely generate trust from the airflow the sail deflects.
But you’ll be more efficient if you remove the sail and just point the fan in the other direction.
You’d be even more efficient if you put the fan under the boat and push the water instead of the air.